


Fireproof

by WordStringer



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Adoption, Airbending & Airbenders, Ba Sing Se, Bisexual Female Character, Canon Compliant, Childhood Friends, Cuddling & Snuggling, Developing Friendships, Earthbending & Earthbenders, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Episode: s01e13 The Blue Spirit, Episode: s01e19-20 The Siege of the North, F/F, F/M, Feelings Realization, Firebending & Firebenders, Gaang (Avatar), Gay, Iroh (Avatar) is a Good Uncle, Mutual Pining, Northern Water Tribe, Pirates, Protective Sokka (Avatar), Tea Server Zuko (Avatar), The Jasmine Dragon (Avatar), Waterbending & Waterbenders, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-11
Updated: 2020-11-07
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:08:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 30,421
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26871157
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WordStringer/pseuds/WordStringer
Summary: Kelani sees Zuko as an escape route from her hostage life as a pirate pawn.
Relationships: Sokka (Avatar) & Original Female Character(s), Sokka/Yue (Avatar), The Gaang (Avatar) & Original Female Character(s), Yue (Avatar)/Original Female Character(s), Zuko (Avatar) & Original Female Character(s), Zuko (Avatar)/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 15
Kudos: 26





	1. Freedom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kelani meets some rogue travellers and finds a way out.

Kelani stands, bored, leaning against the wall towards the back of the ship, watching the barker lead in a group of young kids who look roughly around her age. They catch her attention when she recognizes the water tribe robes, and she stands up straighter, watching them more closely as they browse the ship’s stock of stolen goods. 

The Water Tribe girl pulls out a waterbending scroll, and excitedly shows it off to her friends. The shorter one, dressed in old airbender robes, shares in her excitement. Kelani cringes, remembering the day the pirates looted the Northern Water Tribe, taking both her and the scroll, along with countless other things. The smaller boy asks Captain Aimo where they got the scroll from. Kelani grimaces. 

“Let’s just say I got it up North, at the most reasonable price- free.” Captain Aimo grins. Kelani sends him a death glare. 

After seven years on this ship, Kelani still harbors intense hatred for the Captain and his crew. Any reminder of what her life used to be summons her anger and a pit in her stomach. 

Seeing this group of young travellers gives Kelani hope. She sparks an idea that, maybe, she could sneak off of this disgusting ship and travel with them instead. It doesn’t matter where they plan to go, what matters is that it would mean Kelani isn’t here with Captain Aimo and his grimey crew. 

The Water Tribe boy puts the pieces together. 

“You guys are pirates!” 

The small boy and the water tribe girl try to haggle for the scroll, making Captain Aimo crackle at them. The girl looks around shifty eyed, and suggests the trio head on their way. One of the crew members, Oh, notices the scroll is missing, and runs after them, calling them thieves. 

Kelani follows, both out of curiosity, and the hope that maybe now that she’s left the ship, she won’t come back. She’s unable to keep up, however, and Oh corrals her back to the ship after he loses the group of young kids. 

“We lost the Water Tribe girl and the little bald monk she was travelling with.” Oh reports, catching the attention of the new patrons on the ship. 

They looked like a pair of fire benders, reminding Kelani of Captain Aimo. The younger one strides quickly up to them. His face is nearly blank, his eyes filled with determination and rage. The right side of his face is burned around his eye. 

He asks about the small monk boy and hatches a plan with Captain Aimo to track down the young travellers. 

“I want to come too.” 

_The snow falling from the sky slowly turned to ash. Kelani and Yue froze from their game of tag, staring at the sky in wonder and fear. Though it was only a few ships of Fire Nation soldiers, they coward from the shore and tried to make it to shelter and ask for help. Yue ran ahead to find her father, and Kelani glanced around, desperately trying to find someone, anyone to warn._

_In their panic the two girls didn’t notice a smaller, wooden ship or the gangly crew of fire nation pirates that filed out of it. With Yue out of sight, the pirates nabbed the young, terrified Kelani. She squirmed and shrieked, but the Water Tribe soldiers were too distracted fighting the Fire Nation fleet to notice or hear the young girl for the last time._

Zuko watches Kelani step into the small boat as they get ready to sail after the Avatar. She caught him off guard when she volunteered to help them on their mission, but the pirate captain didn’t object. 

He takes a second to really look at her, she looks similar to the Water Tribe girl and her brother who are travelling with the Avatar, but she carried herself like a pirate. Self-assured, unbothered, independent. Though she looked like she belonged to the Water Tribe, her clothes would never give her away. He assumes she must loot her clothing as they travel, leaving her indistinguishable in that way. However, her hair, braided to the side, did remind him of the Water Tribe. 

Kelani feels him looking at her and glances over at him. He notices her eyes are grey, meaning she could easily be of Water Tribe or Earth Kingdom descent. 

“You gonna get on the boat, or what?” She asks, gesturing around her. 

He huffs, looking away and stepping onto the boat. Iroh chuckles and follows his nephew. 

“Pay no mind to my nephew, Zuko, his annoyance is misdirected.” Iroh explains to Kelani, then whispers, “he’s upset I rerouted his ship. Nothing a good cup of tea won’t fix.” 

Iroh’s effortless charm makes Kelani smile. 

“How long have you known the captain?” Iroh asks. 

Kelani grimaces. 

“Most of my life, really. But I’m ready for something new.” 

Iroh nods. 

The boat sets off down the river, and Kelani takes a deep breath. Iroh mimics her action. Zuko and the captain stand towards the front of the boat, keeping watchful eye for anyone familiar. 

“Shouldn’t we stop to search the woods?” The captain worries. 

“They stole a waterbending scroll, right?” 

The captain nods. 

“Then they’ll be on the water.” 

Zuko’s intuition pays off when they find the Water Tribe girl not far off, or rather they hear her frustrated yelling. When the boat stops, she immediately readies herself for a fight. The recognition of the pirates and Zuko undoubtedly set off alarm bells for her. 

Kelani sits back to watch as Zuko and the rest of her crew gear up for a fight against one small girl over a scroll. She can’t help but snort at the prospect of such an uneven fight. Iroh laughs as well, his belly shaking. 

As the fight goes on, they tie the young girl to a tree, which feels like overkill. Kelani notices Iroh’s nephew pull out a Betrothal Necklace and freezes. He presents it to the Water Tribe girl, who immediately tries to take it from him. 

“My mother’s necklace! How did you get that?” The girl exclaims, looking hurt and angry. 

“I didn’t steal it if that’s what you’re wondering. Tell me where he is!” 

“Enough of this necklace garbage, you promised a scroll!” 

Kelani rolls her eyes at Captain Aimo, ready to fight him on her own for being such a pompous ass. Of course he couldn’t give less of a shit about a young girl and her emotional ties to something as significant as a Betrothal Necklace. He doesn’t care about anything or anyone other than money and himself. 

While she’s technically on the side of the pirates and this angsty firebender and his kind uncle, Kelani silently hopes that the young girl can get her necklace back, especially if it was her mother’s. 

Zuko holds the scroll above a flame in his hand, proving the worth of the waterbending scroll. He convinces Captain Aimo and the others to help him and they run off into the woods in search of the Water Tribe boy and the Avatar. 

They come back, having successfully bagged the two boys. Kelani watches solemnly, hoping this ends better for the young travellers than it did for her. Though, these three are all older than she was when they took her, so they stand a better chance against Captain Aimo and his men. 

An intense fight breaks out among the two groups. Iroh sighs, uninterested in the debacle. Kelani nods, agreeing with his silent sentiment. 

“So, what kind of new adventure are you searching for?” Iroh asks. 

“Honestly? Anything. I didn’t ask to be a pirate, and I’ve been looking for a way out since I felt confident enough that I could handle myself.” 

Iroh nods. 

“You could come with us. Perhaps we can sneak you away when this silly fight is over.” 

Kelani beams at the old man’s generosity. He’s truly one of a kind when it comes to Fire Nation and their people. Despite his nephew’s bad attitude, Kelani felt comfortable and safe around this wise man. Perhaps the duo is on the run from the Fire Nation and their despicable goals of world domination. 

“Thank you, that would be fantastic!” 

Iroh smiles, and stands to leave the small boat. Kelani follows. By now, the pirate crew have started fighting against the young firebender. This would be her last day with her dreaded captors. In a split second Kelani remembers her belongings that she left on the pirate ship, and walks back on willingly to retrieve them. 

Hidden in a cubby next to her bunk, Kelani finds her pouch of stashed savings, her favorite ring from home, and her earth kingdom necklace she stole from a shop merchant last spring when they were docked outside of Ba Sing Se. On her way out, she decides to take some extra gold pieces from the pirates’ stash. Before she can actually make it to the doorway, the ship starts moving. 

Panicked, Kelani rushes to the top of the ship, finding the group of young travellers hijacking the ship down the river. Kelani grins. 

“Karma’s a bitch!” She laughs, startling all three of the strangers. 

“If you try to fight us, I won’t hesitate to use my boomerang!” The Water Tribe boy tries to threaten. 

Kelani continues laughing, swatting the boomerang out of his hand with surprising ease. The Water Tribe girl, and the small, bald Avatar look at her with fear. 

“Relax, I was hoping to get out of here anyway. Not my anticipated escape route, but I’m not complaining. Those assholes deserve what’s coming to them.” 

The three kids all exhale a collective sigh of relief. The roar of a waterfall overtakes everyone’s hearing, and panic begins to set in again. 

“Shitshitshit.” 

The Water Tribe girl and the small boy begin waterbending to avoid the waterfall. 

“Woah…” Kelani watches. 

“It’s not _that_ impressive,” the Water Tribe boy mutters, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Are you kidding? I _wish_ I could bend.” 

“Finally! Another non-bender!” The boy exclaims, immediately wrapping his arms around her without warning or asking her consent. 

“Excuse me, can you-” 

The boat falls over the waterfall’s edge, and Kelani wishes she had just gone with the nice old firebender. 

Rather than falling in the water and being impaled by rocks at the bottom, Kelani’s fall is broken by a sturdy surface, and continues moving, this time upwards. 

“What the fuck?” 

“I knew this bison whistle would come in handy. Thanks Appa,” the small boy says, petting whatever they’re flying on. 

Kelani looks at everyone, wide eyed. 

“What is this?” 

“This is Appa, he’s my flying bison! I’m Aang, by the way.” 

Aang offers a hand for Kelani to shake. 

“That angry firebender kid says you’re the Avatar… Is that true?” She asks. 

Aang nods. 

“I’m Katara, and this is my brother, Sokka.” The Water Tribe girl introduces. 

“Kelani…” 

“That’s a pretty name! Are you from the North? If so, why were you with those nasty pirates?” 

Kelani sighs. 

“The same way they got that scroll.” 

Everyone’s faces fall. 

“Oh, yeah,” Sokka says, pulling the scroll out of his pocket. 

“Sokka!” Katara scolds. 

Kelani takes in the view of the setting sun, admiring the way everything looks from this high up. The air feels different on a flying bison, more free. Or, it's escaping the clutches of Captain Aimo that makes her feel free, but either way, she loves the feeling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo, this is my first Avatar fic, and my first time using AO3 to post anything. Hope y'all enjoy, I've got lots planned for upcoming chapters! Any comments/feedback would be wonderfully appreciated! :)


	2. Jet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You already know // Kelani confides in Sokka and they work to deconstruct Jet's plan

Kelani feels right at home amongst the Freedom Fighters. They too have been on their own, taking what they can get from place to place. As a pirate, Kelani had plenty of experience with this way of life. The others, however, are bewildered and amazed by the way the Freedom Fighters live. 

Though she feels comfortable around them, Kelani gets a bad feeling about Jet. His overall demeanor makes her somewhat suspicious of him. Not really being a part of the group, she stays out of it, letting Sokka try to lead them. Katara immediately seems smitten by Jet and his attitude. Kelani rolls her eyes, and catches Aang looking displeased with the development as well. 

The workings of the treehouses are breathtaking, she has to admit. Watching Aang fly through the forest of trees mesmerizes her, if only for a moment. 

Their first night with the Freedom Fighters, Kelani confides in Sokka. 

“He kind of gives me the creeps.” 

“Really? I haven’t noticed much, but I’ll let you know if my instinct changes.” Kelani chuckles at the call back to his instincts, and the way the others distrust them. 

“I’m surprised his immediate disregard for your leadership didn’t throw you off.” Kelani adds, elbowing him. “Not to mention the way he flatters Katara. It’s so empty, and she takes it in stride because she doesn’t realize he’s manipulating her…” 

Sokka looks at Kelani, wide-eyed. He wasn’t expecting such an admission, or rather observation, from her. He averts his gaze to his feet, thinking back to the way Jet holds Katara’s attention. It did seem shallow, like he didn’t really mean it, and was saying anything he could to get on her good side. 

“Yeah… That is fishy…” Sokka agrees, brows furrowed. His face changes nearly into a scowl, his finger and thumb wrapped against his chin as he thinks. “Well, he invited me to go on lookout with him tomorrow, so maybe I can get a better grip on who he really is.” 

“Cool, thanks for listening, Sokka.” Kelani smiles, retreating to her shared treehouse with Katara. 

The next day, Kelani sits with Aang and Katara, waiting for the others to return. When they find Sokka, he looks distraught and almost disturbed. 

“We’re leaving.” Sokka declares, walking past them, pulling Kelani by the arm so they can talk in private. “How did you know?” 

“Know what?” Kelani asks, looking concerned for Sokka and the wellbeing of her new friends. 

“About Jet. Have you met him before?” 

At that, Kelani wonders if there was ever a chance of her crossing paths with Jet and his Freedom Fighters while the pirates were docked somewhere. 

“No, something about him just didn’t sit right with me. What happened?” 

Sokka explains the way Jet and his fighters bullied a helpless old man, and completely ignored Sokka’s input to leave the old man alone. 

“That’s disgusting.” Kelani replies, her jaw tightening in anger. If she had any combat training, she would fight Jet the next time she saw him. It would be useless though. No doubt Jet would easily overtake her. “We’ve got to get out of here.” 

Her and Sokka head back to their friends, only for them to side with Jet and insist on staying longer. Kelani groans. 

“What? Are you Fire Nation, pretending to be on our side?” Jet challenges. 

Kelani tenses up, clenching her fists. 

“Listen here, Robin Hood, I don’t care what you think of me. I think you're a skeezy, angry loser and you don’t care about the path of destruction you create so long as you get what you want- and you don’t even know what that really is.” 

Aang, Katara, and Sokka all stare at her as she storms off to her treehouse. Sokka follows after her, clearing his throat as a warning that she isn’t alone. 

“Was that too mean? I know he lost his family but-” 

“But so did you, and so did we, and we don’t have the same mentality that he does. I think you were right, he needs to find the right way to cope with what he’s going through, and this isn’t it.” 

“Thanks, Sokka. Really, you’ve consistently been there for me, and I appreciate it.” 

“Of course, us non-benders have to stick together.” 

Later that night, Kelani wakes up to ruffling in the trees, but it seems like more than just the wind. She gets out of bed and sneaks out of the treehouse. 

“Sokka?” She whispers. 

“Good, I was hoping I’d wake you. I heard Jet and the others heading off somewhere. I want to follow them.” 

“Lucky you woke me, and not Katara.” 

The pair follow close behind Jet and his followers until they’re caught. 

“Ah, troublemakers, I knew that was you.” Jet calls out smugly. 

Kelani rolls her eyes and resists the urge to punch the smirk off of his face. She’d probably break her hand. 

“You’ve got to trust us, you know. Us fugitive teens have to stick together.” Jet tries, walking closer to the two. Kelani scoffs. 

“If you expect me to take orders from you, you’re no better than the Fire Nation and their pirates who kidnapped me and stowed me away until I was useful to them. I can think for myself, thanks.” 

Jet pauses. 

“So, the Fire Nation ruined your life too. Don’t you want to get back at them for it?” 

“No! Not in whatever sick way you’re planning. Karma will come back to them and they’ll pay for their actions.” 

“Sokka?” Jet challenges. 

Sokka stands firm, shaking his head, his arms crossed. 

In a split second, Jet has two of his fighters take Sokka and Kelani, holding them captive until after Jet’s plan has been executed. Walking through the forest, Sokka tries to reason with Pipsqueak Smellerbee. They continue to side with Jet and advocate for his revenge methods. Out of the corner of her eye, Kelani notices the traps set out to capture the wildlife from the forest. She nudges Sokka and calls attention to the traps. 

The pair run off, weaving around the disguised traps, letting Pipsqueak and Smellerbee get caught in them. 

“Sorry! See you guys later!” Sokka calls. 

“Or never!” Kelani adds. 

The two run off farther into town, looking for a way to unbind their hands. 

Once they make it into town, they warn everyone of Jet’s plan to flood their home, and start an evacuation plan. The old man Jet threatened the night before offers to cut the binding from their hands, and they thank him. 

Worried for how much time they have, the two hurry back to the treehouses to collect their things and retrieve Appa and Momo. Sokka guides Appa in the direction of where they left Jet. 

“So, I know Aang wouldn’t advocate for it, but I really wish you would’ve punched him.” 

Kelani laughs, imagining punching Jet like she wanted to. 

“Oh, me too. Maybe one of these days you can train me in basic combat.” 

Sokka grins at the idea, and nods. 

“Sokka!” They hear from below them, and find Katara and Aang, keeping watch on Jet who is tied to a tree. 

Appa lands, allowing the group time to mount on his saddle, and they fly off again. Jet fades away, his body frozen to the tree. 

Aang and Katara apologize for not heeding their friends’ warning. 

“That’s okay, Katara, just don’t let a cute guy influence your decisions so much in the future.” Kelani teases. 

  
  
_Kelani and Yue snuck around the castle of the North, looking for something sweet to sneak back to the Spirit Oasis. The two girls giggled as they tried not to get caught. Standing on her tippy toes, Yue spotted a platter of leftover Kale Cookies from one of her father’s afternoon meetings. She slid the platter closer to the edge of the counter, and grabbed cookies by the handful. Kelani followed suit and each girl scurried away with enough cookies to last until dinner._

_“Sh!” Yue urged as they snuck around to the secret passageway to the Spirit Oasis._

_Yue was warned not to come here, but she loved to break the rules and find herself on little adventures. Kelani followed her blindly wherever she’d go._

_Kelani couldn’t contain her giggles as they shuffled through the tunnel to the Oasis. She’d never seen it before, and her excitement was bubbling over. It started getting warmer, and Yue told her this meant they were close._

_At the end of the tunnel, light poured through the Oasis, taking Kelani’s breath away. Yue extended her hand to Kelani, who took it eagerly. The warmth of the Oasis masked the warmth of her own flushed skin as Yue held her hand, guiding her through the enchanting Oasis._

_“Father says this is the easiest way to connect to the Spirit World, although I’ve never tried.” Yue explained, releasing Kelani’s hand and sitting down next to the pond. She was careful not to let any crumbs from the Kale Cookies litter the ground or the water._

_Kelani mimicked her stature, sitting on her knees. She watched the fish circle around the pond until the sun started to set. The two girls felt the light disappear behind the opening above the Oasis, and knew that dinner would be called soon._

_“We better get going, Father won’t be happy if he finds out we snuck in here.”_

_He was not._

_The two girls were caught, and he forbid Yue from leaving the confines of the Palace until the next full moon._

_Those ten days were the loneliest Kelani ever felt._


	3. Training

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kelani trains in combat with Sokka, and discovers her waterbending abilities with Katara

“No, Kel! Watch me, and then do what I do!” Sokka scolds, demonstrating for a third time the specific move he’s trying to teach her. 

She watches intently, trying to bank each move of his swinging stick and his body into her brain, hoping that she can repeat the movements. Once he’s done she tries again. 

“Better. Go again!” Sokka encourages, watching Kelani’s movements. They’re hesitant and sloppy, but her memory recall of the moves is there. “Maybe this time, move slower. You’re choppy because you’re trying too hard. Your movements should be more fluid.” 

Kelani takes his advice and slows her own movements, focusing on what she’s doing and how she’s doing it rather than what to do next. 

“Better!” Sokka beams. 

He throws her a large stick to practice with in place of a sword. 

“One of these days we’re gonna find real swords.” Sokka grins, readying his stance. 

Kelani mimics him, holding her stick with a death grip. 

“Loosen the grip. You’ll be able to swing smoothly.” 

She follows his instruction. 

“I don’t know about a sword, Sokka. I just wanted to feel comfortable throwing a punch.” 

Sokka advances towards her, hoping she’s able to stay alert while talking. He’s careful not to swing directly at her, and to still keep a few feet between them, just in case. 

“If I can train the Water Tribe boys to be fighters, I know you can get there, too.” 

Kelani smiles, trying her best. They spar until one of their large sticks breaks. 

Katara approaches Kelani who’s sitting by the edge of the river. 

“So, I’ve been wanting to ask about your time in the North. That’s where we’re headed. Aang needs a waterbending teacher.” 

Kelani nods, swishing her feet back and forth in the water. 

“I grew up there, but I didn’t have any parents. They died when I was really young. The chief took me in. Really, he provided shelter and meals and clothes, but he didn’t love me like his own, and I didn’t expect him to. Then, when I was eight, I was taken by the Fire Nation pirates that you took that scroll from.” 

Katara nods, taking in Kelani’s words. 

“Master Pakku should be able to teach Aang, as long as he’s still there.” 

“Sokka told me you’re not a bender, and that he’s been helping you with combat training.” 

Kelani nods and smiles at the memory of this afternoon. 

“I didn’t know I was a bender until this year. Have you ever tried?” 

“No, I thought it was just something you could feel and you knew you had it.” 

Katara chuckles and shakes her head. 

“In a way, kind of. But I didn’t have a clue. Now that I’m actively bending, I can feel it, though.” 

Kelani keeps this in mind, thinking she might try to bend the next time she’s alone and the pressure is off. 

“I could show you some moves if you want?” Katara offers. 

Kelani ponders her offer. Although she’d prefer to practice on her own in case she’s embarrassingly bad, Katara is a good bender, and she shouldn’t refuse. 

“Sure.” 

The two girls stand and Katara starts demonstrating basic waterbending moves. Kelani watches intently. Katara’s fluid movements remind her of her sparring session with Sokka when he emphasized the same tactics. He must have picked something up from watching his sister and Aang practice their bending. 

Kelani tries, and struggles to bend the water. 

“I don’t know. I guess this is all unfamiliar to me. Especially since the women in the Northern Water Tribe only train as healers and are forbidden from bending as a combative strategy…” 

Katara freezes, water swirling between her open palms. 

“What? Forbidden?” 

Kelani nods, explaining the separation of benders among the Northern Tribe. Boys train with Pakku and girls go on to learn healing from Yugoda. 

“That’s unfair,” Katara argues. 

“Yeah, in a way it is. But, healers are highly necessary. I just think you should be allowed to choose if you want to be a healer or a fighter, or even both if you have the time.” 

Katara nods excitedly. 

“Well, I can try to show you some of both, if you want?” 

This time Kelani gets excited. 

“Absolutely!” 

The pair practice bending until the sun starts to set. Aang and Sokka come to find them to talk about getting dinner. The girls have taken to a very relaxed sparring in the river. The boys stop in their tracks, watching Kelani bend for the first time. 

Sokka looks down at the ground, disappointed. 

“Oh, hey guys!” Kelani greets, sending a little splash their way. They both duck out of the way of the splash. “This is so cool! I never would have known I was a waterbender if Katara didn’t encourage me!” 

“Way to go Katara! She’s a great teacher, she taught me everything I know!” Aang agrees. 

“Did you have Sokka teach you any combat? Or does that go against air nomads and Avatar philosophy?” Kelani adds, noticing Sokka’s change in demeanor. 

He looks up at her and she grins at him, sending more water his way. This time he lets it hit his chest, and laughs. 

“Don’t make me send my boomerang after you,” Sokka threatens, readying his trusty boomerang. 

“I could take it,” Kelani retorts, steadying her stance in the river. 

The two laugh as Aang and Katara watch them tease each other. 

“So, dinner?” Kelani asks the group, the sun lower in the sky now. 

Her three friends nod in agreement, and Katara steps out of the river to put her robes back on. Kelani does the same, wishing she had something to replace her wet sarashi. The wet cloth against her skin makes her shiver. 


	4. Blue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aang and Kelani set out to find medicine for Katara and Sokka, but get captured by Zhao. The Blue Spirit helps them escape.

Sokka was sick, and he got Katara sick too. 

Now, Kelani and Aang have to go searching for a cure. 

“Take that, you rock!” Sokka shouts, pretending he’s an earthbender. Kelani can’t help but laugh at her delusional friend. 

“So, you have a map? Let’s get going.” 

Aang nods, and the two head out to find something to help Sokka and Katara get over their illness. He grabs Kelani’s hand so that they can use his airbending to save time and keep the same pace. 

They make it to the herbalist, and find her tending to an array of plants within her stone temple greenhouse. The rain persists outside, Kelani undoes her braid, running her hands through her wet hair, and begins to rebraid it. Again, she wishes she had dry clothes. 

The herbalist, Gyanon, ignores their presence and goes around in circles looking for something specific. 

“Oh, sandalwood ... oh, er, uh, that won't do, banana leaf? Ah, nope, uh, ginger root, uh uh, oh where is that pesky little plant?” She mumbles. 

Kelani chuckles, watching the cat in the corner. She admires the variety of shrubbery, herbs, and flowers all growing around them. 

“May I?” She asks, plucking a plum blossom off of it’s branch and putting it in her hair. 

“Oh, plum blossom!” Gyanon rushes over, plucking one herself and dropping it in the bowl she’s carrying around. 

Aang reaches for the mixture, but Gyanon swats him away. 

“This is Miyuki’s dinner!” She scolds. 

Kelani watches as Gyanon gives the bowl to the cat, who purrs and immediately starts to eat. 

“What about my friends?” Aang asks, his patience waning. 

Kelani walks over and pets Miyuki as she eats. She lifts her head from the bowl and rubs her face against Kelani’s torso, still purring. Kealni can overhear Gyanon tell Aang about special frozen frogs that work as a cure for Katara and Sokka. 

Aang walks over, quickly grabbing Kelani by the wrist, and rushing back out into the rain, determined to find these frogs. Once they procure the frogs, they start to head back to the cave that’s kept them sheltered through the storm, and kept their friends warm and dry throughout their illness. 

Arrows come flying at the pair, trapping Aang by the excess fabric of his pant legs and sleeves. Kelani tries to bend rain in the direction of the shooters, but more arrows come flying. The Yuyan Archers step forward, ready to take Aang. They notice Kelani and stop for a second before deciding they better capture her too. 

“Oh, fuck. Oh, fuck!” Kelani tries to dodge arrows coming right at her, and Aang tries to free himself and airbend them away from her. The Archers have the upperhand, trapping both Aang and Kelani. 

All they want are some frozen frogs... 

“So this is the Avatar!” A large man taunts, coming out from the shadows of the storm, smuggly watching Aang and Kelani struggle to break free. 

He continues to taunt Aang, an evil grin on his face. Kelani gets a good look at him. He’s a Fire Nation General. She grits her teeth and tries harder to free herself from the arrows. If she can break free and try to fight him or the Archers, she could free Aang, and they could get back to their sick friends. 

But she’s not strong enough to break out of the trap. 

The General notices her for the first time, and a terrifying spark flashes in his eyes. 

“And who’s this?” He muses, walking over to Kelani and eyeing her. 

The weight of his gaze made her feel sick. She knew this look, it was the same look she got dozens of times when Captain Aimo needed her to be a distraction. But this time, it terrifies her. 

Mustering up enough courage, Kelani spits at him, hitting him in the eye. He snarls at her, wiping his face, and gripping her jaw in his hand. 

“Easy.” He threatens. 

“Leave her alone!” Aang shouts, also trying his hardest to break free. 

To no avail, the two are captured and carried off. The Yuyan Archers drag them back to the Pohuai Stronghold, a daunting Fire Nation fortress surrounded by a ring of walls. The Archers lock them in a cell. Aang is shackled in the middle of the room, and Kelani is tossed to the side of the room, her hands and feet bound. The only thing she can’t complain about is the fire keeping the room warm, and drying her and Aang from the rain. Unfortunately, the heat warms up the frozen frogs and they leap out of Aang’s clothes, and waddle their way across the floor. 

“What? No! Don't leave, frogs! My friends are sick and they need you! Please go back to being frozen!” Aang begs, struggling in the shackles. 

Kelani can hear loud banging, and what sounds like a scream. Then the lock to their cell door is picked, and a masked man walks in. Aang tenses up as the man unsheathes his dual broadswords and starts to swing. 

“No!” Kelani yells, closing her eyes as she fears the worst. 

She can hear the clanging of metal, and she opens her eyes to find Aang free from his shackles. He looks confused. The swordsman walks over to her and slices the bindings around her wrists and ankles, and offers her a hand. Cautious, she takes it and he pulls her to her feet. She rubs her wrists, and Aang starts to follow the intruder out the door of their cell. 

Kelani follows behind, jogging to catch up. Aang sees some of the thawed frogs and calls after them, but the swordsman pulls him towards an escape route. They make it to the sewers and climb through one of the grates. She gorans. The masked man glares back at her, and she slumps her shoulders and continues on. 

“The Avatar has escaped! Close all of the gates!” They hear the General call just as they were starting to climb the first wall barrier. 

“Oh, fuck.” Kelani whispers, and the rope they’re climbing is cut. 

The three teens fall to the ground, and stand quickly, running. 

“Stay close!” Aang orders as they run. 

Their savior gets caught up with one of the guards and Aang pauses to save him. Kelani stops, not sure what to do or how to help. Aang grabs the masked man and pulls him towards the gate. He grabs Kelani by the wrist and the three are pushed up over the wall thanks to Aang’s airbending. More guards start scaling up the other side of the wall, trapping them. Aang shoves gusts of air towards the guards, shaking them off of their ladders. He takes the free ladders and starts using them to propel the three forward over the remaining walls. One more gate stands in their way, and more soldiers have them surrounded. Aang shields them from the fire. 

“Hold your fire! The Avatar must be alive.” The General commands. 

This gives the swordsman an idea, and he holds his broadswords over Aang’s throat. 

“Open the gate.” The General continues. His men look at him, dumbfounded. “Let them out, now!” 

The guards and soldiers scramble to follow orders. The swordsman backs up, through the open gate, and Kelani follows, looking over her shoulder at the Fire Nation General. He still has a cocky sneer across his face. She turns around and continues running farther from the fortress. 

An arrow whizzes through the air and hits the masked man square in the forehead. The arrow clangs off of the mask, but he falls to the ground. Part of his face is visible behind the mask. Aang notices too, and removes his mask. He cowers back in fear. 

It’s Zuko, the Fire Nation boy who was after Aang, and whose ship Kelani nearly snuck onto with the help of his uncle. Aang hesitates, but blows up a gust of wind to shield them from the view of the Archers. He starts to lift Zuko by the arm, and Kelani follows suit. They drag him along, each with one of Zuko’s arms over their shoulder. 

Kelani stirs awake when she hears Zuko yell. She sits up, and rubs her eyes. 

“Huh? Where’s Aang?” 

“The Avatar just took off without you, guess you’re stuck with me now.” Zuko grumbles. 

Kelani sits back, hoping that Aang gets back to Katara and Sokka with the frozen frogs. If Zuko plans on chasing after them anyway, she knows she’ll see her friends again. 

Zuko leads Kelani back to his ship. Iroh sits by the side, watching the waves and playing the Tsungi horn. Zuko scowls at the sound. 

“Where have you been, Prince Zuko? You missed music night!” Iroh gushes about the wonderful time the crew had on the ship, but Kelani’s ears start to ring. 

_ Prince Zuko _ . 

So, despite his uncle’s friendly nature and his obvious disinterest in the Fire Nation’s goals, his nephew is Crown Prince of the Fire Nation. She feels like she could faint. 

“Oh, you’ve brought a souvenir!” Iroh turns his attention to her. She starts to breathe heavily. “Is she alright?” 

“I’m going to bed. No disturbances.” Zuko says, ignoring Kelani and his uncle. 

Iroh stands, offering himself as a way to steady Kelani. He leads her over to where he was sitting. 

“What happened to you? One minute I was with you, and the next you were gone.” 

Kelani labors over her breath. She tries to count her breaths as a way to calm herself. Iroh shouts to someone to bring over fresh calming tea. In less than a minute a piping hot pot of tea is brought over on a tray, with two matching cups around the tray to distribute the weight. Iroh pours a cup and hands it to Kelani, and then pours one for himself. 

“Thank you,” she says with a weak smile. “I went back to get my very few belongings, and then the Avatar and his friends were on the ship, and it went over the waterfall.” 

Iroh nods. 

“Zuko was disappointed to lose his smaller boat that day. Though I noticed that the pirates didn’t care about losing you, just their ship.” 

Kelani mirrors his nod, taking another sip of her tea. 

“They only cared about the artifacts and stolen goods that were on that ship.” She says, though she supposes she could be considered stolen as well. But she didn’t care about them, so why should they care about her? All they did was use her to get what they wanted. 

“So,” she continues. “Prince Zuko, huh?” Iroh freezes for half a second and then sets down his tea. 

“Yes, I’m surprised you did not know. Those pirates mostly hailed from the Fire Nation.” 

“Yeah, you’re right. I think they may have whispered about him at some point, but I didn’t remember any names, and I never knew what he looked like.” Kelani shrugs. 

“Well, welcome to the ship, you’ll fit right in.” Iroh smiles. 

He makes sure she feels strong enough to walk and shows her to an empty cabin they have. He explains that he had it set up when they planned her original escape from Captain Aimo. His admission makes her smile. The room is dark, with lanterns lit in the corners by the bed. Fire Nation decor adds to the room, but unsettles Kelani. Though Captain Aimo is from the Fire Nation, their ship was nondescript enough to have a variety of decor and make her feel like her own. Suddenly she grasps at her neck, noticing she doesn’t have her necklace. 

Luckily, she remembered her coin pouch and her Water Tribe ring. The pouch in case her and Aang had to buy medicine, and she never goes anywhere without the ring. Maybe Katara will hold onto the necklace for her. She thanks Iroh, and asks for any fresh robes. He leaves to retrieve the smallest size they have. All of the members of the ship’s crew are men, so she’ll swim in them regardless. 

She takes a minute to look around, the map of the Fire Nation and its colonies catching her eye. They had clearly gained control over a good portion of the Earth Kingdom. When Iroh comes back with fresh robes, he explains that they’ll find somewhere to take their laundry when they next dock the ship.

“Lunch is in a few hours, I will come find you by then.” Iroh smiles, leaving her to her chamber. 

Kelani hesitates before peeling off her usual pirating attire. Despite its need to be cleaned, she keeps her sarashi wrapped around her chest and waist. She carefully slips on the pale red robe, and ties it with the black waist belt. The robe is at least two sizes too big for her, so the sleeves fall past her fingers, and the hem is far too long. She thought maybe the smallest size would fit her decently, considering she isn’t the thinnest of girls. Her thighs are bigger than most girls, and her stomach surely isn’t flat like Katara’s. Without her pirate corset, she feels her stomach bulge slightly more than she’s used to. It feels nice, having ample extra room, but it also feels extremely unflattering. The large men’s robes make her feel anything but feminine. She usually doesn’t care about feeling feminine, but she’s never felt so unfamiliar with herself before. 

Kelani collapses onto the bed, twirling her ring around her finger. She hopes that Aang makes it back to their friends, and that Katara and Sokka can get over their illness. And, maybe, they would worry about her being gone. 

_ Kelani was thrown into a bunk with a cot and no windows. The door locked behind her, and the only thing she could do was cry. Eventually, she felt the ship start to move, and she felt her spirit drifting father and farther away from her home. She curled her knees to her chest, and cried into them. Her purple robes stained with her tears. She stayed like that for hours, afraid to move. She hoped that maybe she would cry herself to sleep, and wake up, and it all would have been a dream. A terrifying, horrible, heartbreaking dream.  _

_ Rustling from the other side of the ship could be heard. Loud, burly men laughed and sang and belched and told stories of their recent successes.  _

_ She lied on the floor, sobbing into herself, begging the Spirits to let her friends and her Tribe be safe. She begged for them to spare Yue and her father. And she begged for her Tribe to come looking for her, too.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whoopsies this is a long one. I've been wanting to write this chapter ever since I came up with this concept, so I kinda went all out.   
> Does my making up names for unnamed characters like the pirate captain and the herbalist bother y'all, or is it okay? I just feel like they should have names. Thanks, and enjoy! More coming soon!


	5. Future/Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kelani adjusts to her life on Zuko's ship

Kelani hears Iroh knock on the door to her chamber. 

“Would you like some morning tea?” 

Knowing she would feel guilty for ignoring him and going back to sleep, she hoists herself out of bed and over to the door. 

“Good morning,” He greets with a warm smile. He’s holding a tray of fresh hot tea. “I brewed this myself.” He gestures to come in and she moves out of the way to let him through. “Did you sleep well?” 

Kelani frowns. It’s a complicated question, even if it seems like a simple one. On one hand, the soft bed and warmth of the room made Kelani feel the most comfortable she’s felt in years. On the other hand, she’s in a new place, with mostly strangers, all of whom are Fire Nation. She would have slept well if she wasn’t wracked with anxiety and bombarded with her worst memories of being captured by Captain Aimo. 

Iroh notices her hesitation, and decides to pour her a cup of tea before she answers. 

“It’s definitely the most comfortable place I’ve had to sleep in a long time.” Kelani starts. 

A lump forms in her throat reliving her feeling of abandonment once she realized after the first month at sea with Captain Aimo that no one was looking for her. This situation isn’t as bad. She has Iroh, and the comfort of knowing that she will run into Katara, Sokka, and Aang again. But, the familiarity still drudges up the pain. 

“But it’s still new, so it’ll take time to adjust.” She decides to say, forcing a smile. 

“You’re in a lot of pain, emotionally. You don’t have to pretend with me.” Iroh offers with a sad smile. 

His kindness breaks Kelani, and she chokes on the lump in her throat. A few tears fall from her eyes and she wipes them away quickly. A sob escapes her mouth. She made a habit of not letting others see her in distress a long time ago. It’s a weird feeling to be open and vulnerable with someone, even if they’re as understanding as Iroh. 

He pats his hand on top of her hand. 

“This might not be at the forefront of your mind, but I will propose we dock somewhere to find you better fitting robes. My nephew may protest, but I want you to be comfortable.” Iroh explains, pouring them more tea. 

Once the pot is empty, Iroh excuses himself and invites her to the top deck for some fresh air before lunch. She nods, thanking him for the tea and company. 

On the deck, Zuko is watching the waves, barking orders, and scowling. The men around him scramble to follow orders. Iroh waves at Kelani as she emerges into the morning sunlight. She takes a seat near him at the ship’s edge, watching the water lap against the sides as they sail. 

“Uncle!” Zuko calls. “Did you find any information on where the Avatar is headed?” He looks between Iroh and Kelani, but doesn’t acknowledge her. 

“I did not, Prince Zuko. She is not just a tool at our disposal. She is a person in need of stability. Perhaps we dock the ship to find her some more comfortable clothes, and then at dinner she can share information with us if she wishes.” Zuko huffs, but doesn’t protest. Zuko walks off to study the map and find a dock for them to visit. “That was easier than expected.” Iroh chuckles. 

Kelani smiles at him, but doesn’t say anything. Despite his stark differences from Zuko, he’s still helping in finding Aang. It’s not clear to Kelani why they want to find Aang, but she doesn’t want to endanger her friend. 

They dock at a small village surrounded by a moat, and a volcano in the distance. The air of the town is warmer than the air at sea. It smells of volcanic ash, and Kelani wonders if the distant mountain of magma had recently erupted. 

Everyone looks friendly, and greets the travellers with smiles. Kelani notices Zuko’s face staying firm in a scowl. Iroh politely returns greetings to those on the streets. Kelani keeps her eyes peeled in search of a clothing merchant. 

“Hello!” A small girl greets, prancing up to Kelani, and offering her a flower. Kelani takes it and puts it in her braid. 

“A panda lily. Very rare,” Iroh admires. 

“I’m Meng!” The girl replies with a large smile. 

“Hi Meng, I’m Kelani! We’ve stopped in to-” 

“Are you here to see Aunt Wu? She would love to see you!” Meng takes Kelani by the hand and pulls her in the direction of the town’s fortune teller. 

Zuko huffs, impatient and unamused. 

Kelani is about to object when she walks into a quaint, beautifully decorated salon. Meng excuses herself and returns with a tray of tea. Kelani and Iroh take a seat on the floor. Iroh insists that Zuko do the same. He rolls his eyes and sits, slouching, with his arms crossed over his chest. 

“Ah, yes, I was expecting visitors.” Aunt Wu admits, greeting her new guests. 

Kelani smiles, and Iroh compliments the tea. 

“You, there, would you like to go first?” Aunt Wu asks, gesturing to Kelani. She shrugs and stands, following Aunt Wu into the back room behind a sliding door. “Welcome, dear. What brings you my way?” 

“Well, we actually docked nearby to find me some better fitting robes. These are mens’ robes, and they don’t fit well.” Kelani explains, waving her hands slightly to show off the long, drooping sleeves. 

Aunt Wu nods. 

“We have some lovely clothing around the corner. You’ll surely find something you like there. Would you like me to read your palm?” 

Kelani extends her open palm without a word. Aunt Wu follows the lines of her palm, slightly tickling Kelani. 

“Ah, here. The strongest reading I can give: you will fall in love in robes of green. It will be a bright, warm love, and it will last a lifetime.” Aunt Wu beams, and Kelani mirrors her happiness. 

Kelani never allows herself to think about things like love or anything about her future for the most part. Knowing something will turn out well in the end is reassuring. 

“And here, I see you will be a very powerful healer. Congratulations.” Kelani brightens even further at that. 

“Thank you so much, Aunt Wu! I really appreciate your generosity.” Kelani pats herself for her gold pouch and tips Aunt Wu in four gold pieces. 

“Oh, thank you, Darling!” 

They return to the front room. Zuko’s position hasn’t changed, and Iroh is enjoying more tea, encouraging Meng to never give up hope in herself. Aunt Wu smiles at the old man. 

“Would you like your fortune told, handsome?” Kelani gawks at the bold flirtation, and looks over to Zuko in disbelief, while he looks disgusted at the display. His expression makes Kelani giggle. 

“No, thank you, at my age there’s only one thing left to be surprised by, and I want to keep it that way.” Aunt Wu nods, turning to Zuko. 

“Whatever,” Zuko huffs, standing and following Aunt Wu. 

Iroh goes on about the tea, and Meng asks Kelani about her fortune. Kelani goes into detail, and Meng gets excited for her. 

“Do you think your boyfriend is that long-lasting love?” 

Kelani freezes, and Iroh laughs. 

“Who? Oh, no, Zuko isn’t-” 

Aunt Wu pulls the door open and she leads Zuko back to the group. He looks more displeased than when they arrived. 

“Guess he’s not your true love. If he was he would be smiling at such a happy reading.” Meng whispers before scampering away. 

Kelani’s face gets hot, and Iroh wipes his eyes free of tears. 

“What’s so funny?” Zuko demands, walking past them, back to the center of town. 

“So, Aunt Wu said I could find some new clothes around the corner.” Kelani says, carefully changing the subject. 

The three search for the stall of women’s robes. Once they find it, Kelani gets excited at the sight of her many options. Zuko rolls his eyes, watching the children run around the square instead. Iroh excuses himself to a stall selling fruits and fruit cakes. 

Kelani walks up to the stall and gets the attention of the merchant. She beams back at Kelani, insisting on helping her find a good set of robes. After a good bit of time, Kelani settles on light pink robes similar to some she saw in the square. The woman again insists on picking at least one more, and Kelani goes for orange, and then a pale blue. Each one has different flowers as embellishments. Kelani pays for her new garments and thanks the woman for her help. 

“Finally. Can we go now?” Zuko gripes, searching for his uncle. Kelani spots Iroh feeding the ducks. “Let’s go.” 

Kelani silently follows Zuko, and the three head back to the ship. 

At dinner, Kelani joins Zuko and Iroh in her new pale pink robes embellished with plum blossoms that remind her of the last time she saw Aang. That flower has long since wilted, and the panda lily takes its place in her braid. 

“Well, you look wonderful Kelani! Doesn’t she, Zuko?” 

Zuko looks up from the bowl of noodles he’s slurping, and chokes. Her new clothes fit her perfectly and compliment her complexion well. The floral detailing makes her look more feminine than he’d ever seen her before. The panda lily draws his attention to her eyes, and they shine brighter, he notices. The grey sparkles back at him with specks of blue. His eyes go to her smile, and his heart stops. 

In the time she’s spent on his ship, he’s never bothered to pay attention to her, or take in any of her features before. Now that he has, she’s beautiful, and he’s angry at himself for not taking the time to appreciate her beauty. He had been so preoccupied with how he encountered her, and what the next plan of action would be, that he completely ignored her. It had been at least a week, if not two, and he barely even spoke to her. 

Afraid he’s been staring, Zuko says nothing and averts his eyes back to his bowl of noodles. Iroh sighs, gesturing for Kelani to join them. She obliges, and thanks them for taking her into town to buy new clothes. 

“I’m starting to feel like me again.” She says. 

It feels silly to say. She hasn’t felt truly like herself since she was taken away from the Northern Water Tribe, but this made her feel more comfortable at least. 

“These noodles are delicious.” 

Iroh chuckles. 

“I will tell the chef you think so.” 

“Where is the Avatar headed next?” Zuko asks, breaking the conversation. 

Kelani pauses. 

The last thing she wants to do is give away Aang’s plans in case Zuko wants to hurt him. However, if she does tell Zuko where they’re going, she has a better chance of seeing them again. And, they were going to her home. It would be her only chance to return home for the first time since she was eight. 

“Zuko, perhaps she does not want to share that with us. Do not pressure her.” Iroh warns. 

“No, it’s okay. Um… Well, he has to learn waterbending, so they’re going to find him a teacher.” Kelani says, keeping it as vague as she can. 

“What about the girl?” Zuko asks. 

Katara. 

“She’s not a master. She can only teach him so much.” Kelani explains. 

“So they’re travelling North.” Zuko concludes. 

His heart flutters at the realization that she’s helping him, but he ignores it and tries to choke down the feeling with a cough. 

By nightfall, almost everyone has retired to their chambers. Kelani struggles to sleep, and decides to go to the deck and watch the stars. She would do this sometimes when she was with Captain Aimo, but only when she was sure no one would catch her and berate her for it. 

She stands at the edge of the ship, watching a few stray clouds drift across the sky. The waves lap at the sides of the ship in a calm rhythm. Kelani takes a deep breath, breathing in the cool sea air. 

A board of the deck squeaks and Kelani turns around to see Zuko in his night robes. 

“Oh, I’m so sorry, I didn’t think anyone was awake. I couldn’t sleep.” She rushes, pulling away from the side of the ship and briskly making her way to her chambers. 

“What? No, you’re fine. I couldn’t sleep either.” Zuko explains, taking up next to where she stood before, watching the waves. 

Kelani breathes a sigh of relief and joins him, returning to her spot. She watches him as he looks down at the water, but says nothing. 

“Would you quit looking at me?” He nearly barks. 

“Sorry, I just… We’ve never really had a conversation before. I wasn’t sure where to start.” 

Zuko can feel his face burning. Both at shame in himself for not simply treating her like a person before tonight, and also at the idea of her staring at his scar. He hates his scar, it reminds him of his failure, and makes him feel disgusting. 

“I’m sorry.” He admits, still not looking at her. 

“For what?” 

“Avoiding you- or, I guess, um-” 

Kelani laughs. 

“If you were avoiding me I didn’t really notice.” 

His chest and his heart deflate. 

“This adjustment has kind of been hard for me.” Kelani confides. “And I just assumed you were busy commanding an entire ship.” She adds with a shrug. “I didn’t want to get in the way of anything, or bother you. Your uncle has been keeping my company, so it hasn’t been all bad.” 

Zuko chuckles, remembering his uncle’s kindness towards her. He’s always so kind to everyone. Zuko wishes he could be more like that. 

“Hard how?” Zuko tries, daring to look at her. 

Her eyes soften at his words, and she looks up at the sky. For the second that they share eye contact, his heart lurches. 

He barely even knows her and can’t help the bubbling in his chest when he’s around her. He hadn’t noticed it until dinner tonight, but she puts him on edge. He assumed his nervousness was a result of his fear that Zhao would come looking for her, or to hack Zuko in two. But really, she made him nervous. The simple presence of a beautiful girl made him nervous. The realization makes him feel pathetic and weak, like his father was right. 

“It’s just more of the same readjusting to a new situation. It gets tiring after a while. And I had started to get comfortable with Aang, Katara, and Sokka.” Kelani smiles, remembering her budding friendships. Then she laughs. 

“Poor Sokka. The last time he saw me, he was mad with an illness and thought I was an Ice Princess.” Kelani continues to laugh. “I wonder if he ended up swallowing one of those frozen frogs…” 

Zuko tenses. Sokka, the Water Tribe boy. The way she talks about him, it sounds like they’re close. To Zuko, it sounds like maybe they’re more than friends. That would make sense, he thinks, considering she’s most likely from the Water Tribe. His face pouts and he glances up at the sky. 

“Sorry,” Kelani continues. “You don’t care about them. Why do you want the Avatar, anyway?” 

Zuko grips the side of the ship so hard his knuckles turn white. 

“For my father. He wants the Avatar.” 

“Why can’t your father find Aang himself?” Kelani asks, looking at Zuko again. 

Though she tries not to, her eyes linger on his scar. 

She remembers the crew on Captain Aimo’s ship whispering about the Fire Lord and an Agni Kai, but that was years ago, and even now she doesn’t know all of the details. 

Zuko’s jaw clenches. 

“Because I was banished, and made a fool. And I have to return to him with the Avatar to be accepted back as his son and the Crown Prince.” 

Kelani freezes. 

“Oh…” She whispers. 

The last thing she ever expected was to feel sorry for the Crown Prince of the Fire Nation. But now, standing on his ship, learning about how he came to be here, Kelani’s heart aches for the boy. She can barely remember her parents. And the Chief was never really like a father figure to her, more of an obligatory guardian. 

Still, she could never imagine a man harming and banishing his own son. Or being the child who had this much pain inflicted upon him. 

She reaches out and puts her hand on top of his. His head snaps to look at her, and she’s looking at him with tears in her eyes. Her eyes glisten in the moonlight as her tears brim at the bottom, threatening to spill onto her cheeks. Zuko’s face softens and for a microsecond he wants to kiss her. 

Then it hardens into a scowl. 

“Don’t pity me.” He orders, ripping his hand away. 

He starts to turn but she grabs his hand quickly. 

“No, Zuko. I’m not pitying you. I’m just trying to imagine your pain. I’m sorry.” Kelani offers, wiping her tears away from her eyes. 

Her empathy and honesty warm his heart, and he feels it rise to his face. She drops his hand just as quickly as she grabbed it. 

“I never really had a father.” She says. “I don’t even remember how my parents died, just that I was left without them.” 

“Where did you grow up?” 

“The Northern Water Tribe. The Chief had to take me in after I was orphaned. And then the pirates showed up one day and snatched me out of thin air. No one was around to hear me or anything because they were all too distracted by the fleet of Fire Nation ships that showed up right before I was taken. So, in a way, I understand what it’s like to be on your own and without the family you thought you had, or that you needed.” 

Zuko frowns, remembering that the raids of the North were disbanded a number of years ago. She must have been taken in one of the last northern raids. 

“I’m sorry, too.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whoopsies another long one...


	6. Shirshu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zuko, Kelani, and Iroh meet June, the bounty hunter.

Kelani accepted Iroh’s offer to join him for tea, and to her surprise, Zuko is sitting with him when she enters the room. Iroh encourages Zuko to relax and enjoy a hot cup of tea. Then, the ship lurches and splashes Zuko’s tea up in his face. He groans, wiping his face and retreating to see what caused the rocking of the ship. 

Of course nature would find a way to embarrass him in front of Kelani. She giggles at his misfortune, but quickly follows him to the main deck of the ship. 

A woman on a large mole-like animal stands proudly on the deck. The large animal growls, sniffing around aggressively. 

“I’m here for a stowaway.” The girl atop the animal explains. Her mode of transportation rips at the metal floor, and pokes its head below deck, sniffing around. 

“There are no stowaways on my ship!” Zuko shouts, although his mind immediately goes to Kelani. Perhaps Zhao had sent this bounty hunter after her as a way to get closer to finding the Avatar. 

The animal pulls its head back, a whimpering man in its jaw. It tosses the crew member to the floor and slashes its tongue at the man, paralyzing him. Kelani watches from behind Zuko. 

“I’m impressed,” Iroh muses. 

Kelani breathlessly nods, watching the bounty hunter. She moved and spoke with alluring confidence. Kelani couldn’t help watching her mount her animal, which she discovered is a Shirshu, and take the paralyzed man over her shoulder with ease. The bounty hunter noticed Kelani staring and grinned before casting her whip against the shirshu and darting off. 

“She has to pay for damaging my ship!” Zuko shouts, turning to see but Kelani and his uncle staring after the bounty hunter with dreamy eyes. He groans. 

“So, we have to follow her?” Kelani asks eagerly, grinning and absentmindedly grooming herself. She smooths out her pale blue robes, and tries to resettle her hair. 

Zuko rolls his eyes, but orders the crew to follow the bounty hunter. Kelani giggles, blushing at the thought of seeing that terrifyingly strong woman again. Zuko catches this and huffs to himself. He feels stupid for letting himself even start to feel anything towards her, now knowing she’s clearly interested in women. That would also mean his Sokka theory is incorrect. Unless she’s interested in men and women. Either way, he feels stupid. If she’s interested in Sokka and the bounty hunter then it means she’s not interested in _him_. 

He stomps away, and Iroh shrugs at Kelani. 

The ship docks, and Zuko quickly dismounts. Kelani and Iroh follow, both giddy. There’s a large pub house and a rowdy combination of laughs, shouts, crashes, and curses can be heard from inside. They enter the bar and the rowdiness only intensifies. Zuko plows through the drunken crowds, insulting many of them on the way. Iroh bashfully apologizes for his nephew, and Kelani blindly follows behind them. 

They come upon the bounty hunter, locked in an arm wrestle with a man three to five times her size. Kelani gazes with wide eyes at the spectacle. The bounty hunter looks to be barely struggling against the giant man, and soon, she wins, slamming his knuckles against the table. The bar erupts in cheers, and copper pieces start raining down on her. 

“Woah…” Kelani beams. Her stomach feels fuzzy as she watches the bounty hunter collect her winnings. 

Kelani knew from a young age that she was without a doubt attracted to women. However, she’d never encountered a woman who could so easily destroy a burly man and his ego in one foul swoop. And the bounty hunter being gorgeous helped nothing, either. 

The bounty hunter, who is introduced as June, acknowledges the presence of Zuko, Iroh, and Kelani. Zuko demands that she pay for ship repairs, and she quips about not having the money to do so. Kelani snorts at this, and Zuko looks angrier. He makes her a proposition and the four of them gather outside where her shirshu sits, patiently. 

Zuko shows off Katara’s necklace that she lost, and that he still has for some reason. Kelani’s chest tightens thinking about her long lost friends, and Katara’s worry about her mother’s necklace. 

“That your girlfriend’s?” June asks, smirking at Zuko. Kelani snorts again, drawing attention to her. 

“Katara would never-” 

“It’s not the girl I’m looking for, it’s the bald monk she’s travelling with.” 

“Whatever,” June shrugs, taking the necklace and offering it to her shirshu. 

She quickly mounts the beast and orders that the others get on his back. Iroh eagerly hops up behind June, and Kelani gets on next, leaving Zuko to sit behind her. As the shirshu jolts, Zuko grabs Kelani’s waist to steady her, and to make himself feel more secure on the shirshu’s back. And, secretly, because it’s an excuse to touch Kelani, though he doesn’t let himself think about it. 

The shirshu takes them back to Gyanon, and her herbalist temple. She looks surprised to have more visitors, and Kelani waves at her, making noises to get the attention of Miyuki. The cat responds with a loud meow. 

“Miyuki, did you get in trouble with the Fire Nation again?” Gyanon teases her cat. Miyuki responds with another meow, and Zuko demands they keep going. 

He takes note of the way Kelani acts with animals. It makes him feel warm inside, remembering the way he used to be with the turtleducks back home as a kid. He shifts his weight on the shirshu’s back, trying to rid himself of the warmth in his stomach. He doesn’t want to seem weak around her, not that she would notice or care. As they keep going, he instinctively tightens his grip on her waist. The rough trekking of their steed makes it difficult to feel stable on its back. 

The Shirshu next takes them back to the village with Aunt Wu, where they got Kelani her robes. Zuko groans. It feels like they’re backtracking or retracing their steps. This means they were always close on the Avatar’s trail. 

The townspeople shriek and run as the shirshu tramples through town, and Kelani waves to Aunt Wu and Meng, who don’t even seem slightly bothered by the shirshu’s presence. 

“We’ve already been here! Let’s keep going!” Zuko demands. 

He hops off the back of the beast and waves the necklace in its face again. The shirshu responds by lashing its tongue at Zuko, who narrowly avoids being struck with paralysis. He scowls at the beast and hops back behind Kelani.June rolls her eyes and cracks her whip against the shirshu, making him jolt and continue on his quest. Zuko’s arms snake back around Kelani’s wasit, and this time she leans into him for support. 

“Thanks for keeping me steady.” 

Zuko feels his face heat, but says nothing in return. 

They finally stop at an abbey, and the shirshu takes a long time settling here before bolting off towards the forest. Soon, he stops, scaring Sokka and Katara as they make their way back to the abbey. The shirshu lashes its tongue at them, and they’re struck by its paralyzing saliva. 

“K-Kelani?” Sokka groans. 

“Where is he?” Zuko demands. 

June stops to hoist the Water Tribe siblings onto the shirshu after he finds the Avatar’s scent. Zuko glares back at Sokka, who continues mumbling to Kelani. 

“H-how’d you end up with Zuko?” 

“It’s a long story,” Kelani calls back over her shoulder, practically yelling in Zuko’s face. 

“Not really,” Zuko protests. “Aang ran off without you and I found you and took you back to my ship.” 

Kelani takes note of the fact that he leaves out the details of the Blue Spirit and the dual swords, but doesn’t argue. 

They make their way back to the abbey just in time for Aang to swoop in on his air glider, attracting the attention of the shirshu. Appa follows Aang through the abbey, trying to defend him from the shirshu. Everyone gets thrown off of the shirshu’s back. Sokka and Katara slump in a limp pile of flesh and bones. Kelani rubs the back of her head, looking around for a safe spot to stand by. She decides to go over to her Water Tribe friends. 

“Seriously, how’d you end up with Zuko, of all people?” Katara pushes. Kelani shrugs. 

“It was how he said, Aang and I got into a bit of a mess, and he escaped and forgot to make sure I was following.” Kelani shrugs. 

Sokka’s eyes narrow. 

“Has he hurt you? Where did you get that outfit? Why didn’t you come find us?” He bombards her with questions. She chuckles. 

“Relax, Sokka, I’m fine. They took me into a village with a really sweet fortune teller and I bought some new robes. Everything on their ship was mens’ clothes. And, I figured since he seemed hell-bent on finding Aang, I would run into you guys eventually. I was right.” 

Sokka tries to nod, but his autonomy over his muscles has barely returned. Zuko, distracted fighting the Avatar, looks over for a second to see Kelani helping Sokka stand, and he fumes. He has no right to be angry or jealous of her or anything she does, and yet here he is, his face hot and his breathing rigid with anger. It makes him fight Aang even harder. 

An explosion of their contrasting elements leaves them on separate rooftops. Aang looks to have the upper hand until the shirshu scales the building and starts after him. Kelani leans against the wall of a building, holding up Sokka and Katara. She watches in awe as Zuko and Aang fight with their bending. She’s never seen Zuko bend before. It’s captivating and simultaneously terrifying. 

Aang and Zuko dance around a water well, and Aang falls into it. Kelani prays to the Spirits that he can manage out of it safely. As she does this, Zuko sends a blast of fire down the well after Aang. Suddenly, A large gush of water erupts from the well, and Aang lands on his feet. The water sprinkles around him like rain. 

Sokka suggests they use the perfume to confuse the shirshu’s senses, and Katara starts bending the large quantities of perfume around the abbey. In a fit of confusion, the shirshu lashes around, its tongue smacking June and Zuko to the ground, paralyzed. 

Iroh cradles June, pretending he got hit. Compelled to help Zuko, Iroh, and June, Kelani kneels beside Zuko, carefully bending the water that Aang released from the well. As she starts to use it to heal Zuko, she watches her friends fly away on Appa. Her chest tightens and her heart sinks. She barely got to speak to them in all the commotion, and then they left her there. Zuko turns his head to watch Kelani and groans. 

“Wh- thank you.” He whispers, staring at her face as she concentrates on healing him and relieving his paralysis. She smiles slightly at his thanks. 

His face heats up as he watches her. He’s never been this close to her before, and the proximity makes him feel paralyzed all over again. Her hands hover over his chest as she works gently to heal him and restore his muscle movements. Slowly he sits up, resting on his elbows. The tenderness of her care makes him want to grab her and hold her there and kiss her. He doesn’t understand the urge, and uses his newfound self-control to retrain himself from doing something so foolish and stupid. 

The last girl he even kind of had feelings for was Mai, and it was hard to know what those feelings were. It was years ago, before his life got away from him and everything got out of hand. And at twelve, what was he meant to know about feelings of affection and love? He thought he felt that way about her, but whatever he felt was a faint, distant memory, and it was nothing like this. Everything about Kelani being around him makes him want to be softer, warmer, nicer. He doesn’t understand how one girl he barely knows can have such an affect on him, and it terrifies him. 

He groans, slowly regaining feeling and control of his legs. 

“How about helping a girl out?” June calls, making Kelani blush. 

She rushes over to help June, and Iroh reluctantly lets her go. She sits up. 

“Thanks, Unagi.” June grins. 

“I-it’s Kelani…” 

“I know,” June rolls her eyes. “I was trying to give you a cute nickname.” 

Kelani’s face brightens, the heat rising to her cheeks making her feel a sweat about to break. Zuko rolls his eyes. She’s got it all wrong, an Unagi is more of a predatory fighter, when clearly, Kelani’s a healer, and cares about those around her more than herself. Iroh eyes Zuko, noticing his sour reaction. 

“It’s the fiestiest water creature I know.” June grins, sitting up to caress Kelani’s face. “Thanks for all your help.” 

She leans up slightly and takes Kelani’s lips between her own for a sweet peck of gratitude. Kelani feels herself melt against the delicate touch of the strong bounty hunter. June pulls away and stands up, rushing off to find her shirshu. 

Kelani kneels, frozen in place. Her first kiss was with a badass bounty hunter. 

“We better get going.” Zuko urges, snapping Kelani out of June’s infatuating trance. 

He hated seeing someone else make the bold move he was afraid to make. He wishes he could fluster her like that, with smooth actions and stupid nicknames. It seems clear, Kelani barely noticed him as anything more than a travel companion, and maybe even that’s pushing it. 

Kelani nods, slowly standing to relieve the ache in her knees, and helps Iroh off the ground. They start to make their way back to the ship. Once there, it’s nightfall and they’ve missed dinner. Iroh mumbles about taking hot tea to bed, but Kelani feels her stomach grumble. 

“You hungry? I could, maybe, I don’t know-” 

“Sure.” Zuko nods, leading her to the kitchen. 

Everything is cleaned up and in order. Kelani feels bad for being the one to ruin it. Zuko explores the cabinets with her. Truthfully, he knows nothing more than her about the ship’s kitchen. 

Kelani stares at the spice cabinet, dumbfounded. During her time with Captain Aimo, she had her fair share of Fire Nation cuisine, but she didn’t know how to _cook_ it. Regret creeps in as she realizes she might accidentally poison the Crown Prince. She looks to him frantically for a lifeline. He catches the look on her face and can’t hide the smile that grows. 

She gapes at him, feeling like he might be mocking her inability to cook. But, at the same time, takes note of how nice he looks when he smiles. She hasn’t seen him smile once since she’s been on this ship. It completely alters the composition of his face. His eyes light up, and his consistently furrowed brow loosens, the wrinkles of stress leaving his face. She mirrors his smile, unable to do anything else. 

“So, uh…” She starts. “I don’t know how to cook Fire Nation food…” 

Zuko stares at her, and can’t help laughing. Soon after the sound leaves his mouth, he feels scared and vulnerable. Kelani laughs with him, though. The sound of her laughter makes his chest bubble, and his face heat furiously. It sounds as beautiful as she is. He clears his throat to try regaining his composure. 

“Didn’t you sail with pirates?” He challenges. 

Kelani gapes at him, arching her eyebrow. 

“Well, yeah, unwillingly. It’s not like I took cooking classes. I do know how to make rice, at least.” She offers. 

“Rice is good.” 

He feels stupid for saying that as soon as he hears it. His embarrassment echoes against the walls of the kitchen and the pots that hang from the ceiling. Kelani doesn’t notice, and gets to work steaming the rice. Before she can get too far in the process, she turns to Zuko, feeling helpless. 

“Could you, uh…” She gestures as if to bend, implying she needs him to light the stove under the pot. 

Without even blinking, Zuko sends a minute flame over to the stove, and the bottom of the pot crackles. Kelani watches as the flame travels from his fingertips to the stovetop. Again, mesmerized, and slightly terrified. 

As the rice cooks, Kelani aimlessly explores the other cabinets. She finds a mysterious bottle. She pulls it out and sloshes it around. Alcohol. 

“What’s this?” She asks Zuko, cocking her eyebrow at him. 

His eyes widen as he takes the rice off of the heat and lets it cool slightly, fishing around for bowls. 

“Sorghum liquor, why are you-” before he can say more, Kelani decorks the liquor and takes a hefty swig. It burns going down her throat, but once it’s made its way down, she sighs. “Spirits…” He mutters. “You sure are a pirate.” 

Kelani glares at him. He offers her a bowl of rice, and she takes it, the bottle once again against her lips. He watches with wide eyes as she downs the liquor like water. 

“That is _good_.” She grins, offering him the bottle. 

He refuses, taking his own bowl of rice. She scoffs at him and returns the bottle to its rightful place. Zuko walks out of the kitchen and back up to the deck. The cold night air hits his face. Kelani follows behind him. They settle for the middle of the deck since no one else is around. They eat in silence for a few minutes, until Zuko musters up the courage to speak. 

“How do you manage to make friends wherever you go?” 

Kelani looks up at him, quirking her brow. She chews thoughtfully at his question. 

“Um… I mean, I don’t know. What do you mean?” He stumped her. 

He sighs. 

“Like, today, everywhere we went, you knew someone. That crazy old lady and her cat. And that other crazy old lady and that little girl recognized you. I didn’t recognize them. Even June-” He stops himself before he says something he doesn’t mean to say. 

His face heats up, remembering the way Kelani melted around June. Again, he wishes he was able to make her feel like that. He wants her to melt around him, and blush at the sight of him, and crumble at his touch. He hates the way she makes him feel weak, helpless, insecure. And yet, he loves the way she’s gotten him to soften up without trying. Though being around her makes him nervous, it relieves his usual stress of his mission. He likes watching her have tea with Uncle Iroh, and listening to her laugh at his lame jokes about Pai Sho, or even Zuko. 

Kelani blushes at the mention of June, remembering the quick kiss they shared in front of Iroh and Zuko. It was the last thing she expected to happen, and the tingle still played at her lips- or maybe that’s the Sorghum liquor. 

“You forgot to list you and Iroh,” Kelani adds, pushing away her blush, and digging back into her rice. 

Zuko’s eyebrows shoot up and his eyes widen. 

“W-we’re friends?” 

Kelani laughs. He looks at her confused, wondering if she’s teasing him about being friends because they could never be friends. 

“Of course we’re friends, Zuko.” 

His heart leaps. At least they’re friends. Maybe, he could work his way up to being something more to her. It would take a lot of effort, since he hates opening up to people, but he wants it bad enough that he’s willing to do what it takes. 

“You saved me from that creep ass General Zhao. If we’re not friends, then at the very least you’re my hero.” She admits, feeling awkward after saying so much. 

Zuko stares at her, stunned. 

_Hero?_

His face heats, and he anxiously plays with the rice in his bowl. 

“Sorry if that was, um-” 

“No!” Zuko insists. “No, uh, thank you. I’ve never felt like a hero, or had anyone tell me something like that before. More than anything, I actually feel like the villain…” 

He didn’t even drink any liquor and he’s still spewing out truths he never thought he could admit to anyone. His vulnerability creeps in. 

“You’re far from a villain, Zuko.” Kelani offers, staring at him under the light of the moon. 

Again, he has an overwhelming urge to kiss her, but thinks better of it. It would feel distasteful to throw another unexpected kiss at her on the same day. Not that he would act on it even if June didn’t plant one on her this afternoon. 

He feels her reach for his hand, and hold it gently in her lap. He blushes, but pretends she can’t see it. It’s clear that this is one of the ways she shows affection and how she cares about people. He wants to pretend it has romantic connotations for his own benefit, but he can tell she would willingly hold the hand of a friend as an act of comfort. Even so, he doesn’t want her to let go. 

This makes him realize how starved he truly is for affection from others, and how nice it feels. He smiles at her, giving her hand a light squeeze, indulging in the physical contact.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> petition to normalize platonic hand holding?


	7. Zhao

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zhao infiltrates Zuko's ship, taking his crew, and heading to the Northern Water Tribe.

Kelani sits, watching Iroh sing as the others on the ship dance and play instruments. This is what he meant when he said they had a music night on the ship. Zuko refused to join them, and opted to sulk in his chambers instead. 

In the blink of an eye, the entire mood of the crew changes. Kelani tenses, her breath getting caught in her throat at the sight of Zhao and his men. She looks away, watching the waves, hoping he won’t recognize her without her pirate attire. 

Unfortunately, he does. He grins over at her, and her stomach churns. Good thing they were on the deck, because she felt sick. Iroh notices the discomfort between them, and steps in Zhao’s line of vision. Kelani lets herself breathe, and excuses herself from the deck. Without thinking, she rushes to the opposite end of the ship from her own chambers, and finds Zuko’s. She barges in without knocking. 

“For the last time, I’m not playing the Tsungi horn!” Zuko scowls, but then turns around when he realizes it wasn’t Iroh who disturbed him. “Kelani?” 

He feels himself tense at her presence, and the fact that she's now in his bed chambers, out of breath. The tiniest sliver of his brain wonders if she realized she has feelings for him and just couldn’t wait to tell him. The rest of him knows that thought is stupid. 

“It’s Zhao.” She breathes, looking at Zuko, hoping he’ll have an answer. 

He mirrors her, eyes wide with fear, palms sweaty and twitching, mouth slightly agape. Zhao finding them and coming on board could not be a good sign. It either meant he showed up to kill Zuko, or take Kelani, or overthrow the Avatar mission. Everything in Zuko tenses at the thought of any of those things being true. All equally terrifying to him. 

Kelani’s face starts to heat up with fear, and she can feel tears spring into her eyes. Zuko surprises himself and strides over to wrap his arms around her. Again, he’s aware of the foreign feeling of physical contact, but he knows this is something that might soothe her. Not that he needs an excuse to be close to her, but it eases his mind to give himself a rationale. 

His arms wrap around her torso, holding her tightly. She follows his actions wrapping her arms around him, her hands resting below his shoulders. Her face falls against his chest and she feels a few tears escape, absorbed by his robes. He can feel her holding onto him like her life depends on it. 

The last time she was this afraid, the pirates were lifting her off of the snowy ground and carrying her away with ease. Meeting Zhao for the first time was scary, and she was worried then, but more than anything she was disgusted by his presence. She trusted that Aang could get them out of their situation, and wasn’t afraid of what might happen to them- more that they wouldn’t make it back to Sokka and Katara and something could happen to them. But this was different. Zhao’s presence held an evil urgency, and the way he looked at her like she was a meal made her want to jump ship. Remembering the look in his eyes makes her stomach lurch again, and all she can do is hold Zuko tighter. 

Kelani could have never imagined she would rely on Zuko like this, or that she would feel safe with him the way she feels now. Other than Iroh, he brought her comfort and reassurance as their lives spiralled into the unknown.

While not being there when he captured her and the Avatar, he can understand her fear. Zhao is an intimidating man, and he could only imagine the way a young woman would feel around him. Growing up, Zuko was faintly aware of the way Zhao treated women, and even young girls like Kelani. He didn’t understand everything since he was a child with limited capacity for such things, and it wasn’t like those things were openly discussed. However, Zhao’s attitude and intentions were clear as day.

“I won’t let him hurt you.” Zuko promises, holding her just as tight. 

He’s thankful for her receptiveness to his embrace, and he doesn’t want to let go. His heart feels like it might burst. Whether out of fear or happiness he can’t tell. 

“What about you?” Kelani wonders, pulling back just enough to look up at Zuko. 

Moments like this make her wish she had more time to train with Sokka, so that she could feel less useless, and maybe help in the event that they have to fight Zhao. If anything, she’s grateful for what she learned from Sokka, and the healing she learned from Katara. 

“If I have to fight him, I will.” 

“There will be no fighting, Zuko.” Iroh says from the doorway, standing next to Zhao. “But I do have some bad news.” 

Zuko breaks contact with Kelani to turn and glare at Zhao. Kelani cowers behind Zuko, terrified to be in Zhao’s line of vision. Iroh looks back at her with sympathy. Zhao’s eyes trail past Zuko, and catch sight of the dual swords hanging on the wall. Kelani follows his eyes, and gasps. 

If he didn’t know Zuko was the one to free her and Aang before, he knows now. She can feel Zuko tense in front of her. Zhao challenges the existence of what he calls the ‘Blue Spirit’. Iroh admits to thinking the Spirit is a myth, but Zhao assures him that he is indeed real. 

Kelani shivers. 

“I’ve taken your men.” Zhao spits at Zuko, who stands ready to fight. 

“All of them?” 

“The whole crew.” Iroh nods solemnly. 

“Well…” Zhao says, eyes glued to Kelani. 

Zuko tucks her behind him and glares at Zhao. Iroh, too, looks upset at the way Zhao is treating her. 

“That’s enough, Zhao, you got what you were after.” Iroh warns. 

Zhao’s eyes linger on Kelani before he turns to leave. 

“My offer to join me still stands, Iroh, if you’d like to take part in the attack on the North.” Zhao says as he walks past Iroh, leaving the three of them to let out a collective breath. 

“The North?” Kelani looks to Iroh in fear. 

“They know the Avatar is headed there, and plan to attack.” Iroh lowers his head, looking defeated. 

Kelani can’t breathe. Her home would once again be ravaged by the Fire Nation. Zuko scowls at the news, still reeling from losing his crew. He feels stupid for promising that he wouldn’t let Zhao hurt her. While he didn’t lay a finger on her, he’s still hurting her by attacking her home and everyone she loves. 

That night, Kelani stirs awake, hearing movements and hushed voices above them on the deck. She jolts, feeling unsafe after Zhao’s visit. Without hesitating, she leaves her room in search of anyone else before remembering nearly everyone else is gone. From the far end of the ship, she can hear Zuko. 

“Uncle?” He calls, looking for Iroh. 

“Zuko?” She calls back. He’s the only person she’s able to find. Iroh being absent from whatever commotion is going on. 

Zuko rushes down to meet her. They share a worried look just in time for the blasting jelly to be hit by the explosives. They’re thrown back by the force of the explosion, falling out of one of the ship’s windows, into the sea. Kelani sputters, resurfacing quickly, and frantically looking for Zuko. He resurfaces a moment later, a few feet away from her. She swims as fast as she can to reach him, and grabs him before creating a water bubble around them to keep them from being shoved by the aggressive waves around the rocking, burning ship. As they float, Kelani tries to bend a wave over the ship to douse the flames. It extinguishes most of the more accessible flames, while the ones on the mast of the ship continue to burn. 

Kelani pulls Zuko through the water, hoping to find the shore. He coughs at the water lapping into his mouth and down to his lungs. They make it to shore and Kelani helps pull him out of the water. In the distance she swears she can see Iroh, watching sadly as the ship continues to burn. Overhead, Kelani notices a familiar iguana parrot. Zuko continues coughing up water, as Kelani feels herself choking on smoke. 

Once she can breathe again, Kelani can’t help but scowl at the image of Captain Aimo’s iguana parrot. Of course he has something to do with this. 

“Is that-” 

“Yeah,” she answers through gritted teeth. 

She can’t help the shiver that rakes through her as they sit on the sand, letting it accumulate on their wet skin and clothes. Zuko notices and offers himself as a source of warmth. Kelani scoots closer to him and lets him wrap an arm around her. She immediately heats up. 

“How could they be involved?” Zuko wonders, watching the bird circle the burning ship. Kelani scoffs. 

“They want us dead.” 

By daybreak, the pair devise a plan to infiltrate Zhao’s ship as he charges his fleet through the water to the North Pole. The idea of being on the offensive side of the invasion makes Kelani feel guilty, but they had no other options. As much as she would rather swim herself back to her home, she knew she would freeze. She hasn’t owned warm Water Tribe clothing since she was taken, and her lighter robes would never maintain her body heat. 

Zuko disguises himself as a guard, and so does Kelani. She just has to be careful not to speak, knowing Zhao would never have women as anything other than sexual objects. With the help of Iroh, the two know where to go to remain inconspicuous. Zuko leads her down the corridor past Zhao’s study to avoid running into him. They hurry around the corner and he stops, both of them out of breath. 

“I’m scared,” She whispers, removing the shield of her helmet. 

“I know.” Zuko nods, doing the same so that he can really look at her. 

Kelani got used to being in danger as a pirate. But she couldn’t wrap her head around people wanting her dead. She understands why they’re angry, but it’s a lot to comprehend and pretend to be unbothered by. Not to mention her home and the people she loves are in danger, and there’s nothing she can do to stop it. 

“Why does everyone want the Avatar anyway?” 

Kelani feels anger bubbling inside of her. Zuko sighs, not looking at her. As much as he’s determined to capture the Avatar for his father and restore his honor, he’s overcome with shame. 

“The Avatar is the only person who can put a stop to the war, and bring peace to the world.” Zuko explains, watching Kelani’s face change while still trying to avoid her eyes. 

“And that’s a bad thing?” 

She wants to understand, but nothing makes any sense. 

Zuko pauses, unsure how to answer her. Truthfully, no, it’s not a bad thing, and he knows it. He knows that what he’s trying to do is the opposite of what he should do. He feels selfish for worrying about himself and his father and his nation, but it’s what he has to do. 

“What? So, you want to _kill_ Aang?” She challenges, trying to read his face. He’s refusing to look at her now, and it makes her angrier. 

Zuko’s face burns. His immediate reaction is to admit, no, he doesn’t want to kill the Avatar. It’s not his plan. But, bringing the Avatar to his father would be a death sentence for the airbender. 

“Well, if we don’t then he’ll kill my father!” Zuko immediately regrets shouting, fear lacing his features as he darts around, making sure he didn’t draw attention to them. 

Kelani steps back. 

“Aang wouldn’t do that, he’s innately a pacifist.” 

Zuko scowls. 

“If he doesn’t kill my father, the war doesn’t end, and there will be no peace.” 

As Zuko admits it, his skin crawls. He knows he’s on the wrong side of this war, but there’s nothing he can do to stop himself from his course of action. It’s what he has to do as the Crown Prince for his nation, and it’s what he has to do for himself. 

Confused and disgusted, Kelani backs away from Zuko further, returning the shield over her face. Zuko can feel himself getting angrier as she walks away, the fire itching at his fingertips threatening to give him away. When no one is around, he shouts, blasting fire over the edge of the ship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof, y'all... The end of season one is so amazingly done, but so heavy. This was really hard to write, but I'm so excited to reunite Kelani and Yue!


	8. Yue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kelani finds herself back at the Northern Water Tribe

Kelani takes a deep, pulling the Fire Nation Navy helmet off of her head, and tosses it to the floor of the ship with a loud clang. She does the same with the armor over her torso and shoulders. She stands towards the edge of the ship mustering up the courage to form herself a block of ice and jump. 

Zhao halted the invasion for the night, leaving her with plenty of time to safely jump ship and make her way on land. The moon is close to full, making her feel powerful enough to accomplish her personal iceberg. 

Footsteps pad against the metal deck, and for a second Kelani thinks she’s been caught. Then she notices that it’s Zuko running towards her. She frowns and rolls her eyes. They haven’t spoken since yesterday, and she doesn’t know what she might say to him now. 

“Stop! Kelani, don’t go!” He tries, finally reaching her. Her expression chills him. She’s never looked at him like that before. He hates it. His heart hurts. 

“Why not, Zuko? So I can sit on the sidelines and watch your people ambush my people  _ again _ ? No, thanks.” 

He’s taken aback. She never addresses him like this. It was like she knew from the start that even though he’s from the Fire Nation, he’s not like the rest of them somehow. But now she sees him as just another pathetic cog in the Fire Lord’s machine. He can’t believe that just last night she was clinging to him for dear life, afraid to be anywhere else. He’s too focused on trying to comprehend her words that he doesn’t notice the pain in her eyes, or the tears. 

“It doesn’t have to be like that.” He tries again, wanting to reach out and grab her hand to show her he’s there, but he can’t bring himself to do it. He’s afraid. 

She bites the inside of her cheek, trying to keep her tears at bay. 

“You told me that we’re friends!” He continues, letting himself get upset. The hurt in his voice is enough to propel her tears forward, spilling out of her eyes and down her cheeks, practically freezing in the cold air. 

“Well, I can’t just let one of my friends capture and kill one of my other friends.” 

He watches her hands fly up past her ears, building an ice block for her to float on. She gives him one last hard look before jumping off the side of the ship, and narrowly landing on the block of bent ice. She bends the waves around her, creating a current that will take her to the mainland soon enough. She already looks too cold for her own good. He wants to jump in after her, float with her and warm her up. 

His heart sinks. He had a lot more he wanted to say to her. He planned on asking her to leave with him on the lifeboat Uncle Iroh was preparing for him to escape on in the morning. He thought they could work through their anger at each other for misunderstanding the other, and fight Zhao as friends. She just proved that they couldn’t. She left him and glared at him like he’s the enemy. 

He knows this is what she has to do for herself, but it still hurts. He feels stupid for believing her when she said they’re friends, and even stupider for letting her get ot him so quickly. This is why he doesn’t let people in. They only hurt or betray him and make him feel like an idiot, and the butt of some sick joke. 

And even though he’s angry at her, and hurt by her, he hopes she makes it to land safely and doesn’t freeze. 

Kelani drifts along in the water, feeling tired as she bends it to her favor. The moon hangs high, and makes her feel more powerful, but she’s still drained, physically and emotionally. She overestimated how close she was to shore before she jumped ship, and now she’s unbelievably cold. 

She lets herself lie across the block of ice, aimlessly float towards the shore. She knows she’ll get there eventually, she just needs to rest for a bit. Her body aches from the cold, and her teeth feel like they could break from chattering. 

The sun starts to peek over the horizon, and Kelani breathes a sigh of relief. The warmth from the sun helps her feel energized enough to keep going, but she knows Zhao will be on the attack soon. 

She wonders about Zuko and Iroh. What are they going to do? Do they have a plan, or are they going to side with Zhao for their own safety? Her chest feels heavy as she thinks about the words she exchanged with Zuko. They both got too vulnerable too fast with one another, and now that they’re on opposite sides, it hurts. She really does see him and Iroh as friends, even allies, but this battle is something that she can’t stand with them for. She knows Iroh will understand, and maybe even stand with her, but Zuko seems extremely hurt by her, and she doubts he’ll forgive her so quickly. 

If he truly wants to capture Aang and leave him to die, she can’t forgive him either. She knows that his father is a terrible, evil man, and she knows that he knows that about his father, probably better than anyone. But she understands that he thinks he has to prove himself to his father, and to his nation. 

She knows nothing about being royalty, or heir to a throne of a terrifyingly evil nation. Even so, she can empathize with his pain, and his compulsion to fix everything for what he thinks is best. She can tell he doesn’t really want to hurt Aang, it’s just part of the price he has to pay, and he’s willing to do it. And she can tell by the way he spoke to her during their fight that he knows it seems ridiculous, and might not make sense to those on the outside, and is probably the wrong thing. 

He has to figure it out for himself. She can try and pull him to her side, but she can tell he wouldn’t go without hesitation, and self-doubt, and guilt for betraying his father and his nation, so she let him go, hoping he will figure it out. 

Soot mixes with the snow falling from the sky. Kelani stands, alert. Then she notices something familiar in the sky. 

“Appa?” She yells, hoping she might catch his attention. He starts to swoop lower in the sky, and she can see Sokka on his back. “Sokka?” She yells again, using all of her force. He hears something below him and looks, but she isn’t sure if he can make out that it’s her floating on a stray block of ice. 

He directs Appa to fly lower, and then he can see her. 

“Kelani?” 

“Yue?” 

Kelani’s heart stops. She hasn’t seen Yue in half of their lifetime. She looks different, more beautiful than Kelani remembers, although they've both changed so much. Sokka steadies Appa close to her ice block, and offers her his hand. She takes it, and he jolts at the contact. 

“You’re freezing, Kel.” Sokka scolds, lifting her onto Appa’s back. 

Yue opens up her fur lined coat and slides the left half off of her shoulder. Kelani slides into the coat without skipping a beat. The two girls giggle at each other. It feels like old times. 

“How did you get here?” Yue asks, ready to cry at the sight of her best friend. 

“You don’t even want to know.” Kelani decides, wrapping her arms around Yue. “I’ve missed you so much.” 

Both girls hold each other like they’re afraid the other will disappear when they let go. Kelani breathes in Yue’s musky, warm scent, letting her tears fall off of her cheekbone and onto Yue’s shoulder. Sokka watches the reunion, beaming. 

Kelani notices the betrothal necklace around Yue’s neck, gawking. 

“Happy Birthday,” She tells Yue, the biggest smile on her face. 

“Same to you,” Yue laughs, pulling Kelani in for another hug. 

Even though Kelani knows Yue is engaged, she can’t help the warmth that 

spreads throughout her body, and the fireflies that erupt in her stomach. Yue’s her safe space, and she couldn’t be happier to be with her on the back of a flying sky bison. 

“Hold up,” Sokka starts, glancing between his friend and his almost-girlfriend. “What do you mean? When’s Kelani’s birthday?” 

Yue giggles at him, and Kelani notices the blush that rises to her cheeks. Even though she loves Yue, she always knew that Yue only saw her as a best friend. She never would have imagined, though, that Yue would fall for a guy like Sokka. 

The more she thinks about it, the more it makes sense. Sokka’s protective, and easy going at the same time, and he loves to make jokes. His presence must be a nice break from Yue’s stresses of being the Princess of the North. Kelani grinned, watching her two friends exchange amorous glances. 

But she knows there’s no way Sokka was the one to give Yue that necklace, and her grin drops. 

“We share a birthday,” Yue explains, grabbing Kelani’s hand and lacing their fingers. “We used to have a joint party every year. Father still asks everyone to celebrate you.” 

Kelani blushes thinking about her home and her Tribe, and the idea of them remembering her after almost a decade. 

Sokka thinks back to the festive dinner the night before. He was distracted by Yue’s presence for most of the night, but remembers a brief moment where everyone sat in silence. He had no idea it was to remember Kelani. 

“So I was right then,” Sokka starts, making both girls look at him confused. “You are an Ice Princess.” 

Kelani laughs at this, remembering the last thing he said to her in the cave before her and Aang went to find medicine. She never thought of herself as a Princess, considering she was only adopted by the Chief, but maybe Sokka’s right. 

“Yeah, I guess so.” 

Yue watches her long lost best friend banter with the sweet Southern Tribe boy, smiling at them. 

“How do you know each other?” She asks, looking between them both with warmth and love. 

“We hijacked her pirate ship!” Sokka shouts, seeming proud. “And then I taught her how to fight, and Katara taught her waterbending.” Yue’s face changes into shock, looking at Kelani. 

“You’re a bender?” 

Kelani nods, resting her head on Yue’s shoulder. Her body temperature is almost normal again, but she can’t get enough of Yue. She can hardly believe they’re finally together again, and that she’s home. 

“Katara’s a great teacher, I didn’t even know I could bend until she encouraged me to try.” Yue looks at her best friend in awe. “But this guy,” She continues, punching Sokka on the arm. “He’s a great teacher too. Taught me how to handle myself.” 

Sokka beams at her, and makes a mental note to thank her later for making him look good in front of Yue. 

The Fire Nation smog comes into view, and the reunion is cut short. Sokka quickly turns Appa around and lands just in time to find Master Pakku and the Chief. Everyone has stern, worried looks on their faces. Then they spot Kelani. 

Chief Arnook looks at her in disbelief as she steps off of Appa with Yue, the two of them still sharing her coat. 

“Kelani?” He breathes, rushing to her. For the first time in her life, he hugs her. The left half of Yue’s coat falls off of her shoulder, and Yue slides her arm through, quickly buttoning it to remain properly groomed in front of her Tribe. 

Kelani lets out a breath, carefully returning Chief Arnook’s hug. He pulls her back to look at her, tears in his eyes. 

“It’s really you? You’re really home?” He looks at her and holds her by her shoulders as if she might vanish into thin air again. 

Kelani’s heart swells at the word home. 

Then she realizes why Zuko wants to do his father’s bidding so badly. He wants this, a family, a home, acceptance. He wants to feel at peace and feel like he belongs. Their circumstances aren’t the same, but they want the same things. 

“You must be freezing, let’s get you a coat.” Master Yugoda says, warmly smiling at the long lost Water Tribe girl. 

Kelani nods, following the elder back to the palace. She finds her way to Yue’s room where they keep a large closet of royal robes and fur lined coats. Kelani beams at them, taking the one she likes best, and slipping it over her arms. The pink sleeves of her robes disappear under the fur, and Kelani feels warm. She pulls the neckline up to her face, breathing in Yue’s scent. This feels like home. 

Her happiness is cut short as the front wall shakes on impact from a fire bomb. Aang rushes off to attack the fleet. The Chief, his army, and Master Pakku stand, ready to defend their Tribe. 

Her homecoming is anything but perfect, but she’s home. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo here it is... I have the next chapter already written 
> 
> Y'all know what's coming :(


	9. Tui

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aang visits the Spirit World, Zhao captures the Moon Spirit// You all know what's coming, don't make me say it... :(

“I can’t do it,” Aang sighs, slumping against a pillar of ice. “I took out at least a dozen Fire Navy ships, but there’s just too many.” 

Everyone exchanges worried looks. Sokka and Katara seem to be gearing up to fight. Kelani gets ready to join them, but Chief Arnook stops her, a firm hand on her shoulder. 

“Where do you think you’re going?” 

He looks worried, but stern. 

“I can fight. Katara taught me how to waterbend. I don’t know much, but if I can help, I will.” 

Chief Arnook frowns. 

“Absolutely not. You just returned home by some miracle, you can’t risk your life in battle. You and Yue must stay back and keep each other safe.” 

Kelani turns to Yue, who shrugs in defeat. 

They stay back with Aang, and Yue tells him about Tui and La, the Moon and Ocean Spirits. His face perks up and he suggests he tries getting in contact with the Spirits. Kelani beams at her friend, and looks to Yue for approval. 

“I know a place.” 

Yue and Kelani guide Aang to the Spirit Oasis. It looks just as breathtaking as Kelani remembers. The last time she came here, Yue was grounded. That was the same year Kelani lost her parents and had to be taken in by the chief. As much as the two girls wanted to explore the palace together, they knew not to defy Chief Arnook. He wasn’t harmful, but he could get angry. And Yue hated making him angry. 

“Woah,” Aang gasps, taking in the warmth of the Oasis, with its Spirit Pond, bamboo garden, and waterfalls. “It’s so tranquil.” 

As he says this, Katara interrupts, following them to the pond. Kelani smiles at her, noting her friend’s nervousness. 

“I thought I should be here to help look after Aang.” The girls nod at Katara, and Aang smiles brightly, blushing. 

Aang readies himself to go into the Spirit World, and the three girls watch. The fish in the pond swim after one another in an endless loop. Aang watches them intently and his eyes start to glow, along with the arrows on his hands, feet, and forehead. Kelani gasps. She’s never witnessed anything like this before. It’s beautiful. 

“Should we help him?” Yue asks, sounding alarmed. 

“No, he’s the Avatar, he’ll be fine. Besides, I’m his friend. I can protect him.” Katara reassures, and Kelani nods. 

Out of the corner of her eye she sees someone else enter the Oasis. Her mouth drops open. 

“Zuko?” Kelani breathes. Katara looks alarmed, spinning to find Zuko standing at the opposite end of the Oasis. 

Katara readies a fighting stance, and Kelani scowls at him, trying to mirror his stance. 

He smirks, watching the two waterbenders get ready to fight him. He turns his attention to Kelani and throws his first shot. She washes it out with a blast of water. Yue runs off to find help.

“Katara, you protect Aang,  _ I’ll _ handle Zuko.” 

Katara wants to object, seeing as she’s had more practice with waterbending, but she can see that there’s some unresolved issue between Kelani and Zuko, and focuses on being backup. 

Zuko laughs bitterly as Kelani charges towards him, her hands engulfed in water. He throws another shot at her, and she dodges it. His face falls into a scowl to match hers. 

“Didn’t know friends fought other friends.” He spits, his feelings of betrayal bubbling to the surface. 

Kelani pauses for half a second. 

“They don’t!” She shouts through gritted teeth, flooding his face with water. He spits water out of his mouth and shakes his hair out, letting out an angry breath of fire. “But you don’t have to do this, Zuko. You’re choosing to make things harder for yourself because you think it’ll make everything better. It won’t!” She spins out of the way of his fists hurling a double punch of fire at her. She whips water at him, extinguishing his flames for a few seconds. 

He can’t rebut her statement, too focused on throwing fire at her. He never imagined they’d be fighting like this. His anger starts to become overrun by sadness. He thought they could be friends, and he could work his way up to earning her affection, not this. She looks at him like she hates him, and it breaks his heart. 

While she has a gap in between throws, she discards her new coat, feeling sweat break on her forehead. Zuko stops, stunned by her beauty in the familiar pink robes. He can’t explain what it is about her that takes over his mind, but he watches her swing back and forth, bending water from the nearby waterfall, sweat glistening on her forehead, a few stray hairs falling out of her braid. All of a sudden he’s not angry anymore. He just wants this to stop. 

He stands, not readying another thrown, and she takes this as an opportunity. She hurls water at him in quick punches, spinning to create a wave and throw him back against the wall of the Oasis. 

“Stop!” He pleads, watching her through a wall of water headed his way. 

“Not unless you leave now, without Aang!” Kelani shouts over the roaring waterfall. 

“I can’t! You know I can’t.” His face falls. 

Kelani stops for just a second. 

“No, Zuko. I know you can, you just don’t want to.” She looks at him with sadness in her eyes and throws another wave his way, slowly freezing around him so he’s against the wall. 

With him frozen in place, she walks up to him. 

“Your father scarred you, Zuko. Do you really think he cares about you? I don’t. I don’t think it matters whether or not you capture Aang. He’s not going to care about you, or ‘restore your honor’. He’s a monster with selfish intentions. And I know you want to see him again, and you want to go home-” Kelani chokes on a lump in her throat. “But I know you’re better than him, and you don’t need him to validate you. You let Aang go once, so why are you still chasing him?” 

Zuko doesn’t bother to struggle in the ice trap. He stills, listening to her. He knows she’s right. She sees that there’s good in him. He can feel it in himself. 

“Zuko, I know you could be a hero, don’t be a villain.” Kelani tries again. 

His heart lurches. She really believes he can better. 

But the thought of defying his father and his nation, and his duty as the Crown Prince, and leaving everything he’s ever known or ever wanted behind in the ashes makes him uncomfortable. Vulnerable. Scared. 

He refuses to look at her, and his lip trembles like he might cry. Just then, the sun peeks through the roof of the Oasis, and he feels himself getting stronger. He breathes out, and the ice around him melts. As a reflex, he hurls fire in her direction. She’s standing so close to him that it hits her, and her shoulder starts to burn. 

Kelani lets out a cry in agony, and Zuko’s head snaps up to look at her. Tears fall freely from her eyes as she clutches her burned skin, and it starts to blister. 

Caught off guard, Katara rushes over to her to heal the burn. 

“No, Aang, protect Aang!” Kelani demands through gritted teeth, sobbing at the pain. 

Zuko halts, seeing the pain he’s caused her, hearing it rake through her body in sobs. His entire body heats with shame. Once Katara is by her side, Zuko rushes to grab the Avatar, and leaves. 

Once Yue returns with Sokka, they explain how Zuko got away with Aang, and the girls mount Appa’s back to go looking for the Avatar. His soul is suspended in the Spirit World, but without his body to tether to, he’s not safe. 

“I’m sorry, Kelani.” Katara starts. “It got too deep, you were too close. It’s going to scar.” 

Yue frowns, resting her hand on Kelani’s unharmed shoulder. The burn reaches all the way down her shoulder blade, almost like a plait of armor. Sokka looks back at everyone, his face sorrowful, but his eyes angry. 

“I am going to  _ kill _ Zuko.” 

Kelani’s body aches with pain and fatigue as they soar through a blizzard looking for Zuko and Aang. She rests her head on Yue’s shoulder, her hand in Katara’s lap with their fingers interlaced. The warmth from her friends and her coat that smells like Yue, mixed with her exhaustion, are enough to knock her out. 

She wakes at the sound of Katara’s glee. They watch as Aang’s spirit flies past them, into a tunnel. 

“What the fuck?” Kelani grumbles, cozying herself into Yue. 

“His body must be over there.” Katara points. 

Sure enough, his body rolls out of the tunnel into the snow. He’s tied up with rope, and Zuko runs after him as he snakes through the snow. Appa lands in the snow, and Katara slides off to retrieve Aang from Zuko. 

“Let him go! Haven’t you done enough?” 

Zuko glares at Katara, but gazes back at Appa to get a good look at Kelani, snuggled into the Water Tribe Princess. His eyes soften. Katara uses this to her advantage, and hurls him up in the air, slamming him back down to the ground, unconscious. 

Sokka slides down Appa’s back and over to Aang, untying him. They get on Appa, ready to leave Zuko face down in the snow as the blizzard continues. Aang hesitates to signal Appa to fly away. 

“We can’t leave him here, or he’ll die.” 

Reluctantly, they allow Aang to hoist Zuko onto Appa’s back using his airbending. 

“Oh, sure, he’s constantly tracking us down and trying to kill us, but let’s save him!” Sokka grumbles, rolling his eyes. 

Kelani lazily turns her head to look at Sokka. 

“Thanks, Sokka, but he’s right. We can’t just let him die.” 

Sokka sighs, and pats Kelani’s hand that rests in her lap. Yue smiles over at Sokka, and they both blush. 

Suddenly, the sky turns a dark red color. Yue slumps into Kelani’s side. 

“I feel faint…” She whispers. 

Aang agrees, explaining that the Moon Spirit must be in trouble. Yue frowns, and goes on to explain how the Moon Spirit is the only reason she’s alive. Kelani heard the story before, once or twice when they were children. 

Appa swoops down, into the Oasis. Zhao stands, holding a bag with the fish of the Moon Spirit wriggling inside. Momo attacks Zhao. Kelani feels sick to her stomach even being in the same room as Zhao. She hurls an ice ball at the back of his head using her good arm.

He spins to find Kelani smirking at him. He rubs the back of his head, and his eyes galare into her, full of that sickening evil lust. Sokka hurls his boomerang at Zhao, knocking the fish out of his hand and back into the pond. 

Kelani notices Iroh come in, and he tries to coax Zhao away from the Spirit Oasis. Zhao grins, throwing a roaring flame into the pond. The world goes dark. No light from the moon can be seen in the sky. Iroh sends flames towards Zhao. He escapes the Oasis, and Iroh’s flames. 

“It’s over, there’s no hope.” Yue cries, watching La helplessly circle the now dead Tui. 

Aang enters the Avatar State and slumps forward, into the pond. They all watch as he gets absorbed by the water, encapsulating the Ocean Spirit. The group watches in awe as Aang makes his way out of the Oasis, through the Tribe, and to the ocean. 

“Part of the Moon Spirit is alive, in you.” Iroh says, gesturing to Yue. 

She nods, understanding what she has to do. Sokka tries to stop her. 

“Your father asked me to protect you, I won’t let you do this!” He cries, holding her hand in his. 

Kelani watches on, sadly, as Yue sacrifices herself to save the world. Her heart breaks, watching Yue fall faint, and then slowly disappear. Her spirit appears, a faint glow around her as she floats above the pond. She reaches out and caresses Kelani’s cheek. Kelani reaches up to put her hand over Yue’s. They smile sadly at each other, and Yue turns to Sokka. 

“I’ll always be with you,” she says, kissing him goodbye. “Please, protect each other.” Sokka looks on sadly as Yue disappears. 

Kelani only nods, accepting Yue’s demands to protect Sokka. Tears start flowing down her face. She turns to Sokka, who looks dumbfounded. 

“She’s gone…” 

“I know.” 

Kelani walks over slowly and sits down next to Sokka, wrapping her arm around his shoulder and crying into his chest. Her tears leave tiny stains on his blue coat. She instinctively pulls her own coat closer to her body, taking in Yue’s smell as a memory. She sobs into Sokka. 

The moon returns to the sky, and the light of the moon lights up the entire world. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YALL IM EMOTIONAL


	10. Goodbye

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kelani settles into life back home at the Northern Water Tribe

Snow falls onto Kelani’s cheeks as she walks through her village. Chief Arnook and Master Pakku are standing with her friends, bidding them farewell. 

“Kelani!” Katara calls, waving with a smile. 

Kelani rushes over to her friends, being careful not to fall in the snow. Being home and being in the snow is something she would have to get used to. She reaches Katara and wraps her in a tight hug. Katara hugs her just as tight, until Kelani hisses in pain. 

Katara has been doing some great work healing the tender burn, but now the other healers of the Northern Tribe would have to take over. Her skin would have a permanent pink mark, but at least they could ease the pain as it heals. 

“You really aren’t coming?” Sokka asks, looking at her sadly as she hugs his sister. 

Kelani frowns slightly, and pulls away from Katara. Sokka immediately scoops her up in a hug, holding her even tighter than Katara. 

“I want to, but… I just got home. I’m not ready to leave just yet.” Sokka nods, his arms holding her in place against him. “Maybe I’ll find you guys in the Earth Kingdom.” 

“You better.” Sokka demands with a pointed finger and a smile. 

Aang hugs her next, tightly and quickly. Master Pakku then presents them with parting gifts. They mount Appa and fly off, Katara waving the whole way. 

Chief Arnook turns his attention to Kelani, patting her good shoulder. 

“We have a lot to catch up on.” 

He takes her back to the palace where they hold a meeting with other high ranking members of the tribe. They discuss the future of the tribe for hours. 

“Then it’s settled, Kelani will take over Yue’s duties as Princess and heir.” 

Kelani’s breath catches in her throat. 

_Heir?_

She can almost feel Zuko’s smug smirk on her back, as if he’s still in the North. The chief as well as the other members of her tribe look at her for a response. She gulps. 

“But I’m not a blood relative.” Kelani argues. 

Truthfully, that argument doesn’t mean much to begin with, since even Yue wouldn’t have become chief. It’s a matter of finding a suitable husband who will one day take Arnook’s place as chief. 

“But you are the closest thing Chief Arnook has to an heir. You must carry on Yue’s duties.” One of the higher ranking men of the tribe explains. 

She turns to Chief Arnook with pleading eyes. 

“It’s the only option. Yue was engaged, but never married, so we have no one else to turn to.” 

Kelani sighs, slumping in her chair. She can’t be Princess of the Northern Water Tribe. It’s not in her destiny. If it is, Aunt Wu would have mentioned something about it, she’s sure. 

“You will start training to be the Princess, and be counseled on the things you will need to know.” Another high ranking member of the tribe explains. 

Yagoda smiles at her from across the table of ice. 

After the meeting, Kelani walks around the village to get some air. The snow under her boots crunches, and she pulls her coat tighter to herself. Even after weeks of wearing it, it still smells like Yue. A tear glides down her cheek and falls into the snow. 

She can hear the crunching of someone walking behind her. She turns to see Hahn, Yue’s fiance, walking towards her, smiling. 

“Ah, Princess Kelani, just the lady I wanted to see.” 

Kelani rolls her eyes with a scowl. 

“What could you possibly want, Hahn?” 

He grins at her. 

“Well, you know Yue and I were engaged-” 

Kelani scoffs. She still can’t believe Yue was engaged to Hahn, of all people. Sure, he ranks high in their army, but he’s insufferable to be around. He has no human decency, and is extremely self-absorbed. Although, she assumes Yue felt pressured to marry him for the good of the tribe. 

“Yeah, so?” 

“So, since you’re taking over for Yue, I think that means _we_ are engaged.” 

Kelani’s blood runs cold. Colder than the snow and ice around her. Instantly, anger fills her body, and her blood boils within her veins. 

“What? You can’t be serious?” 

Hahn grins at her, but she glares at him with another scowl. 

“Serious as ever, babe.” 

Her skin crawls. 

“Don’t call me that.” She warns through gritted teeth. 

She storms off, leaving Hahn behind her. Once she’s back at the palace, she searches everywhere for Chief Arnook. She needs answers. 

Someone tells her that he’s in his study, preparing for her first lesson tomorrow. She thanks them and rushes to his study, barging in. 

“Chief-” She huffs, her lungs begging for air. 

She slumps with her hands on her knees, catching her breath. Her windburned cheeks start to heat up. 

“Kelani?” 

She takes a seat across from his desk. 

“Do I have to marry Hahn?” She asks, worry pooling in her stomach, overflowing up to her chest. 

The Chief’s eyebrows quirk up, and he looks at her, confused. 

“Where did you hear that?” 

“Hahn.” Kelani groans, rolling her eyes. 

“Well, it was arranged for him to marry Yue… But, I won’t force any more on you right now. Perhaps another worthy young man of our tribe will propose marriage.” 

Kelani breathes a sigh of relief. 

“Thank you.” She bows to him and leaves his study, feeling slightly better about today’s events. 

Word gets around about Kelani’s availability, and dozens of men within the tribe start vying for her attention. For the next week, everywhere she goes, someone new is intruding on her alone time walking through the village, her healing lessons with Yugoda, or even her royal training. 

It disgusts her. Men can be so desperate and needy. Not a single one interests her. It gets to the point where Chief Arnook must put together a task force to urge her to choose a fiance. Hours upon hours of her time are devoted to discussing betrothal. 

“Can’t this wait until after the war?” Kelani groans. 

The members of her marriage council halt their current discussion. 

“It’s not like the chief is dying and in desperate need of someone to take over.” 

This comment earns her scowls from everyone in the room. 

“But we need to be prepared in the event that Chief Arnook does die. We could be attacked by another Fire Nation fleet. It would be best to have these matters settled for when the time comes.” Says one of the advisors. 

“They’re not going to attack again. They were only after the Avatar.” Kelani counters, squeezing the bridge of her nose. 

Her new responsibilities as Princess are weighing on her more and more. And trying to push her into a marriage is the last thing Kelani wants. The way everyone acts like Yue never existed, or that her death wasn’t sad, doesn’t sit right with her either. Sure, members of the tribe are encouraged to mourn in private, but it feels more like no one is actually mourning, and are more concerned with the political turmoil her death brought on them. 

Before any of her advisors can respond, she storms out of the meeting room. She runs to her bed chambers and falls onto her bed. The fire burning in the hearth crackles. She lets out a sigh, staring at the ceiling. 

“How did you do it, Yue?” 

Kelani lets herself cry, memories of her childhood with Yue flashing in her mind. Her chest rises and falls rapidly as she cries, tears sliding past her temples and onto the Polar Leopard pelt covering her bed. 

Being home after so long doesn’t feel like she thought it would. Everything is completely different from what she expected. Yue is gone, so they don’t even get to catch up on what they’ve missed in the last eight years, and Kelani barely got to enjoy the little time with Yue she had. 

It wasn’t supposed to be like this. They were supposed to goof off together and sneak around the palace, and go into the village markets to shop for whatever they wanted. Yue was going to joke about cute boys, and Kelani was going to smile and nod, keeping her love for Yue to herself. 

She had come to terms with it soon after she realized her own feelings. They loved each other in different ways, and that was okay as long as they were together at all. 

But now they aren’t, and nothing feels okay. 

“I can’t do this…” Kelani whispers to herself, wiping her face free of tears. 

She walks over to her closet, now filled with Yue’s old clothes, and finds a large tiger seal skin bag. She pulls two sets of robes off of their bone hangers and stuffs them into the bag. She grabs an extra coat, and extra sarashi before walking over to the fireplace. The mantle of the fireplace holds a portrait of Yue that was done for her birthday and was just finished last week, and a whale tooth comb that also belonged to Yue. She takes them and tucks them between folds of the robes to keep them safe, but leaves Yue’s Princess headpieces and jewelry on the mantle. She won’t need anything like that where she’s going. Under the bed, Kelani finds the box she hid, stashed with her pouch of gold pieces, and her pink robes from Makapu Village, tucking both in the confines of the tiger seal skin. 

“I’m sorry,” She says to no one, but directed at Yue, closing the bag, and hauling herself out of the window of her bed chambers. 

The stars glimmer in the sky, and as she walks, she can’t help but stare up at the moon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This feels kinda short, but I wanted at least one chapter of Kelani at home before we move on. Enjoy!


	11. Birthdays

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kelani's first birthday in the Palace of the North

_ Kelani woke up to a knock on her door. It was one of the chambermaids she didn’t remember the name of. She whined, pulling the polar bear pelt blanket over her eyes. The sun peeked through the window next to her bed, but she ignored that too.  _

_ The chambermaid knocked again, this time cracking the door open to make sure the young girl was awake.  _

_ “Miss Kelani, you have to get up. The Chief wants you at breakfast in five minutes. Princess Yue is already there. She refuses to eat unless you’re there.” The maid explained, walking over to Kelani and gently shaking her awake.  _

_ “But it’s early!” Kelani continued whining.  _

_ “But it’s your birthday!” The chambermaid continued with a bright smile. “Today you are five, and tonight you will be celebrated by everyone.” Kelani’s eyes went big. “But only if you get up.”  _

_ Kelani jumped out of bed and slid into her fur lined seal skin slippers. The chambermaid chuckled, leading her down the hall to the dining room. Kelani rushed in, hopping up on one of the tall chairs next to Yue.  _

_ This was the first year Kelani got to share a birthday celebration with Yue. Just under a year ago, Kelani’s parents went out on a fishing expedition, and their boat capsized in a storm. For Kelani’s wellbeing, the chief agreed to take her in. They learned early on that the girls were the same age, and only a few months ago that they were born on the same day.  _

_ Yue loved having someone her own age around the palace. It made being Princess easier, and she got a best friend out of it. It made the palace less lonely too, since it was more than just her and the chief now.  _

_ The two girls always got into trouble, going places they weren’t supposed to go unsupervised, or at all. Yue loved leading Kelani all over the palace and showing her all of Yue’s favorite secret hiding places. Now that Klani lived there too, the girls played hide and seek, and Yue actually had a reason to use her hiding spots.  _

_ Their favorite was the Spirit Oasis, but they didn’t go back after getting in trouble last time.  _

_ “Maybe when we’re older and allowed to go back, we can watch the fish!” Yue said one night before they went to their separate bed chambers.  _

_ The idea of Yue taking Kelani back to the Spirit Oasis made her too excited to sleep, and too excited to grow up.  _

_ Kelani was still adjusting to life at the palace. She liked having such a large, cozy bedroom, and having Yue to spend all of her time with. Having maids and guards who looked after her every move was hard to get used to, though. She learned that some were nicer than others, and she learned which ones she could trust.  _

_ “Thank you for joining us, Kelani.” Chief Arnook said in a monotone voice.  _

_ Kelani grinned, glancing over at Yue who giggled.  _

_ The girls loved to rile up the chief.  _

_ “Good morning!” Kelani replied, reaching for blubbered seal jerky.  _

_ He eyed her, making a mental note to block out more time to teach her manners. Even after eight months, she struggled to grasp their way of doing things in the Ice Palace. It was fine, since she was so young. Things would easily become habits after enough practice.  _

_ Kelani and Yue bounced with excitement as the sun started to go down. The closer to nightfall it got, the sooner their party would start. Each girl had her hair done in twin braids. Yue wore her Princess headpiece. They were dressed in very similar formal dresses, Yue’s being more intricate with patterns, while Kelani’s was plain. Their chambermaids smiled brightly at the excited young girls.  _

_ Yue was excited for an extravagant feast, and a show put on by the waterbenders training under Master Pakku. She knew her father would gift her something pretty that was her mother’s. And she was excited to be sharing the party this year.  _

_ Kelani couldn’t imagine what to expect, and bounced with anticipation to see what it would be like. Her parents could never afford fancy things for her birthday, but her father used to go on a three day fishing trip to catch her favorite fish and they would cook it just the way she liked. It always made her feel special. She wasn’t ready for what she was about to experience.  _

_ Yue glanced at Kelani, grinning. She reached over and clasped their hands together. She demanded that they walk out together, and be presented together. Chief Arnook wasn’t eager to oblige, but it was his daughter, and he didn’t want to upset her on her birthday.  _

_ The chambermaids gave the pair a little nudge, urging them to walk out to the party. They could hear the rhythmic beats of the drums, and Kelani’s heart started to race in time with them. Yue gave her hand a squeeze, her grin wider than ever.  _

_ With a deep breath, Kelani walked out hand in hand with Yue. The room glowed with the light of the moon, and a long buffet table divided the room. Chief Arnook smiled wide at the two girls, his beaming eyes directed at his daughter. Many people from the tribe were there to celebrate. One of the guards bowed to the two girls and pulled back their chairs for them. Yue also insisted they share the head of the table for tonight.  _

_ Kelani took her seat, mouth hung open slightly as she surveyed the room. Everything was beyond her imagination. The buffet had her favorite dishes and plates piled high with kale cookies. The star of the meal was the giant sea crab. Kelani had never tasted it before, only knew that it existed. At the sight of it she felt silly for getting excited over Platypus Bear and Tentacle Soup.  _

_ Hot plates of the food were brought to them, and Kelani’s mouth watered at the smell of it all. Yue grinned, watching Kelani take in the royal treatment. As they were about to eat, Chief Arnook signaled Master Pakku to start the bending routine. Kelani watched in awe at the group of waterbenders. She couldn’t decide whether to indulge in her plate of food or to watch the performance.  _

_ As a lifeline, she glanced at Yue, who ate her giant sea crab with ease while watching the waterbenders. Kelani decided she would do both too.  _

_ Once the performance was over, the room erupted into applause. Kelani felt a bubbling in her chest, like this was the best night of her life.  _

_ The girls continued the indulge in the delicacies of their tribe, and bask in the shower of attention and adoration they got from everyone present. It wasn’t clear at the time, but everyone only really cared about Yue.  _

_ After plates and plates of food, and an abundance of cookies and music and dancing, the girls were sent off to bed. Truthfully they were both very tired, but neither wanted to miss any more of the festivities. Yue’s chambermaid led them back to their wing of the palace. Yue yawned, her mouth opening up as wide as it could go. Kelani chuckled at her tired friend.  _

_ Before the chambermaid could take Kelani back to her own room, Yue pulled her into her bigger, warmer room. The chambermaid sighed, but didn’t dare argue with the princess. Kelani drank in the decor of Yue’s room. The walls held portraits done of her parents before she was born, next to one of her and her father holding her as an infant. Her fireplace was twice the size of the one in Kelani’s room, and it burned brighter. The light from the fire made the room cozier.  _

_ Yue went over and plopped on her oversized bed. Her pelt blanket puffed up and fell back down around her. A small blue box with a leathery bow on top sat next to her on the bed. She noticed it and gasped, sitting up. Her eyes shined at the sight of her gift.  _

_ Without waiting, the young girl untied the bow and lifted the lid to the box. Inside sat a small ring with a white gemstone surrounded by tiny blue gemstones. It sparkled at her and she rushed to slide it on her finger. It was far too big, but she loved to look at it. Kelani smiled brightly at Yue, watching her excitement at her present.  _

_ “You can sit y’know.” Yue said, patting the space next to her on the bed. Kelani cautiously walked over and sat next to Yue.  _

_ She was afraid that she would get caught being in the Princess’ chambers instead of her own and be kicked out of the palace for good. She was still getting used to life in the palace, and it felt like one misstep would make everything go away.  _

_ “Where’s your gift?” Yue asked, looking at Kelani.  _

_ “I- I don’t have one.” Kelani shrugged.  _

_ For a second she thought maybe there would be a box waiting for her on her bed, but then she remembered that Yue was the princess, and she wasn’t. Not that she wanted or needed a gift. Being able to live in the palace with her best friend with a nice warm bed and a pretty coat was enough.  _

_ “Here, take mine.” Yue said, plucking the ring off of her finger and sliding it onto Kelani’s.  _

_ “But it- it’s your mom’s…” Kelani argued, eyes wide as saucers.  _

_ She knew that Yue never met her mom, and that she cherished everything she knew about her mom, or that she had of her mother’s. Part of her also knew that the chief would not like her wearing the gift he prepared for Yue.  _

_ Yue shrugged and admired the way it sat on Kelani’s finger.  _

_ “It’s yours now. It fits you better anyway.”  _

_ Kelani blushed and crushed Yue in a hug. Yue giggled and hugged her back, just as tight.  _

_ “I’m tired.” Yue yawned, kicking off her fur lined boots and scooting under her blanket.  _

_ Kelani moved to get up, but Yue grabbed her hand before she got too far.  _

_ “You can stay with me, it’ll be like a special birthday sleepover!” Yue insisted.  _

_ Not wanting to argue, Kelani nodded and padded over to the other side of Yue’s giant bed. She kicked off her own boots and snuggled under the covers. She felt encased in a warm hug, and was lulled to sleep. _

_ Yue interlocked their pinkies before falling asleep.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just wanted to spend some time with our girls


	12. Money

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kelani reunites with Zuko and Iroh

Kelani walks along the river, the sun beating down on her. She starts to break a sweat and discards her fur lined coat. She had kept it on during her journey because it still smells faintly of Yue, and she needs something to bring her comfort. 

Walking through a village forked by the river, Kelani spots a pair of familiar faces. One scowling and scarred, the other sheepish and sweaty as a rude swordsman pokes at him to make him dance. Watching this, Kelani walks over to them slowly. They’re distracted by the rude man who tosses a single gold coin into Iroh’s hat. 

Kelani grins to herself, slyly tossing her entire pouch of savings into his hat. This gets their attention, and they both look up in awe. 

“Kelani?” Zuko wonders. 

He’s surprised to see her, and even more surprised that she isn’t trying to stab him with the other man’s broadsword. 

“So good to see you,” Iroh beams. 

Kelani smiles back at Iroh before taking a seat next to Zuko under the awning of a shop. He’s watching her, shock still playing on his face. 

“How did you get here?” 

Kelani grimaces thinking back on her travels. She used her newfound ice block trick to guide herself from the Northern Water Tribe to the edge of the Earth Kingdom. Luckily, this time, she had the proper clothes to keep her from freezing to death. Then, once she hit land, she walked, following the flow of the river. 

“How’d you get here?” She challenges instead. 

Zuko rolls his eyes, but Iroh laughs. He fishes her coin pouch out of his hat and passes it back to her. She refuses to take it. 

“I came looking for Aang. Well, really I came looking for Sokka, but you’ll do. And if you’re strapped for money we can share.” 

Zuko can’t stop staring at her. He can’t believe she’s here, and acting like nothing happened between them in the North. He notices how tired she looks. Her face slightly pale and her eyes underlined by purple bags to match her purple robes. He also takes note of the large bag she’s travelling with. He’s never seen her travel with this many things before. It looks more like she ran away from home than it does that she went freely. 

At the mention of Sokka, his face burns, and he hides a scowl. 

“Very generous!” Iroh grins, tucking the pouch of gold in his robes to hide it from passersby. 

“So you missed your boyfriend.” Zuko mutters, rolling his eyes and looking past her at the sun. 

Kelani can’t stop the laugh that bubbles up in her chest. He glances at her, confused by her laughter. She laughs so hard tears try to jump from her eyes. She stops in time to wipe them away and let herself breathe. 

“Sokka is  _ not _ my boyfriend. Cute that you think that though.” 

She didn’t mean anything by it, but his face and neck flush completely when she calls him cute. Iroh chuckles along with her, elbowing his nephew. Zuko glares at his uncle, trying to hide his face under the brim of his hat. 

“I only specified Sokka because he made me promise I would come looking for them in the Earth Kingdom at some point.” Kelani shrugs. 

She’s careful not to mention the promise they made to Yue to protect each other. It’s too early in the day for her to cry at the thought of her first love who sacrificed herself to the moon. 

“Why don’t you show her back to camp while I dance for more money?” Iroh suggests, looking over at his nephew. 

Zuko shrugs, standing and waiting for Kelani. 

“If we need more money, let me know. I was a pirate, I know how to get us money.” 

Iroh nods with a laugh as Zuko guides her to the outskirts of the village. He takes her to their camp set up, and she gratefully sets down her tiger seal skin bag. He eyes her suspiciously as she surveys the camp and then looks up to the sky. She takes a deep breath, soaking in the warmth of the sunlight. 

“Why are you here?” He asks, his eyes practically burning a hole through her. 

She turns her attention to him and gets a good look at him. Something about him seems different. 

“Did you get a haircut?” She deflects again, striding over to him and removing his hat. 

Her mouth falls agape, seeing his extremely short hair. He scowls at her for what feels like the tenth time in the last hour. Avoiding her eyes, he snatches his hat back and places it on his head. 

“Uncle and I had to cut our hair. It works as a good disguise.” He says, not explaining the significance that makes them traitors to the Fire Nation. “Stop changing the subject! Why are you here?” 

Kelani sighs. 

“I don’t owe you an explanation.” 

“You do when you’re giving me and Uncle your money.” 

Kelani stands still, chewing on her bottom lip. She absentmindedly twirls the Water Tribe ring on her finger. She runs through her mind what she wants to say, but can’t bring herself to speak. No matter how she puts it, it all comes back to Yue. And she can’t cry now. She only lets herself cry at night. 

Her lip trembles and she squeezes her eyes shut to keep the tears in. After a few minutes of silence, she swallows hard past the lump that formed in her throat. 

“It’s a long story.” She breathes, shyly glancing at Zuko who’s looking at her, confused and sympathetic. 

He nods, and makes a mental note not to pry, and let her tell him everything when she’s ready- if she’s ever ready to trust him again. 

“I’m sorry.” He says, looking at his feet in shame. 

“What?” 

“For burning you. It was an accident, I really didn’t mean for that to happen.” 

“Oh.” 

Kelani practically forgot about the fleshy pink mark on the back of her left shoulder. The pain went away weeks ago, and everything before Yue’s death feels insignificant to her anyway. 

“I-It’s okay.” She manages, still trying not to think about Yue. 

“Does it hurt?” 

“No, I haven’t noticed it in weeks.” Zuko nods, a flood of relief washing over him. “I haven’t even looked at it, actually. Do you wanna see it?” 

He goes to stop her, afraid to confront one of his most shameful moments. Before he can get a word out, she’s pulling back the sleeve of her robe, revealing her sarashi and her bare shoulder, pale pink and rough around the edges. 

Gulping, Zuko takes a few steps closer to get a better look at the scar. He can’t help getting distracted by the sight of her bare skin. About a foot away from her, he stops. He stares at the scar, his brain thinking everything and nothing simultaneously. He wants to reach out and touch the scar, but he knows he would be tempted to touch more of her skin. 

“It’s pink.” 

His face burns, feeling like an idiot. Kelani breathes out a chuckle. She turns her head to glance back at him. He meets her eyes and his face heats up. He wets his bottom lip, feeling parched and anxious. 

“Pink like yours?” Kelani asks. 

She wants to reach out and touch his face, feel his scar. But she doesn’t want to overstep, or upset him. 

“No.” 

His face scrunches at the image in his mind of his dark, ugly scar. 

“Darn, I was hoping we’d match.” Kelani jokes, smirking at him. 

His face continues to burn. He’s sure he looks like he has a fever. Neither of them say anything for a minute, and Kelani decides to pull her sleeve back over her arm. 

“Your haircut looks nice by the way.” She smiles. 

He’s blushing so hard he feels like he might burst into flames, which may be entirely possible. 

“Why are you being nice to me?” He finally asks. 

Kelani looks at him, confused. 

“Because we’re friends?” 

“The last time we saw each other we weren’t acting very friendly.” Zuko replies. 

Kelani thinks back to the Spirit Oasis. She tiptoes through the memory, not letting herself think about Yue or imagine her sitting on Appa with Sokka, or feel the phantom touch of Yue’s hand against hers. 

“I’m sorry too,” Kelani breathes, trying her hardest to hold back tears. 

Zuko looks up at her, hearing the tremble in her voice. His face softens and he 

rushes to wrap her in his arms like he did the night Zhao hijacked his ship. She sinks into him, letting him hold her up on her feet. For the first time since Yue’s death, she cries in front of someone else. 

She chokes on a few sobs, and feels her tears seep through the fabric on his chest. His arms around her are warm, and even though it’s a hot day, she doesn’t mind. The feeling of being held overrides any discomfort from the heat. 

“It’s okay. We both said things and did things. You don’t have to be sorry for standing your ground.” He tells her, trying to soothe her heartache that he doesn’t know exists. 

“Is everything alright?” Iroh asks, approaching the teens at the campsite. 

Kelani pulls back, wiping her eyes and her face. She looks up at Zuko with a sad smile before fully pulling away. 

“Yes, Uncle.” Zuko grumbles, rolling his eyes. 

“I brought some dinner. Dumplings, tea, and some moon peaches.” Iroh smiles, holding up his haul of food from the village. 

Kelani smiles, immediately sitting by her bag, eager to accept a nice hot meal. Zuko joins her, sitting beside her and taking some of the food from his uncle. They sit together and eat, and Kelani feels comforted by the familiarity of it. It almost lets her forget the events of the last month. 

“Thank you, Iroh, this is delicious.” Kelani compliments, savoring her dumplings. 

“Thank you.” Iroh parrots. “Without you I wouldn’t have been able to afford more than one moon peach and some tea.” 

Kelani giggles at the old man and his love for tea. 

“I can head out tonight and get us some more money.” She offers. 

Zuko arches his brow at her. He doesn’t understand her plan to get them money, or why she would want to wait until nightfall. 

With full bellies, the three settle into camp for the night. Kelani unrolls one of her coats, and uses it as a blanket. She rests her head on her tiger seal skin bag. Iroh snores softly a few yards away. Zuko sits upright against a tree, wide awake. Kelani isn’t asleep yet, so she retreats from her Water Tribe resources and walks over to the tree. She sits, sliding down against the bark of the tree, peering at Zuko. 

“What are you still doing up?” 

“Waiting for you to sleep.” He grumbles. 

“Why?” She asks, not willing to explain that she was doing the same thing.

He glares at her slightly. He doesn’t want to explain his plans to go into town as the Blue Spirit. 

“Nothing that concerns you.” 

She cocks an eyebrow at him, smirking. 

“As your friend, and closest travel confidante, it does concern me.” She tries. 

He smiles at this, trying not to laugh. 

“I was going to get us some things from in town. It was going to be a surprise.” He explains. 

Kelani nods, mirroring his smile. 

“Let me go with you.” 

He’s about to say no, but she’s already standing, offering him her hand. His heart starts racing and he knows he’d be a fool to deny her now. With a grin and pink tinted cheeks, he takes her hand and stands up from the dirt. They head back into town still holding hands. 

“So, where to, Prince Zuko?” Kelani asks, wiggling her eyebrows at him. He freezes, making her stop walking. 

“Uh, it’s Lee.” 

Kelani’s face splits into a smile, and she tries to stifle laughter. 

“ _ Lee _ ? Why?” 

His face burns again. 

“Part of the disguise. Uncle and I have to pretend to be simple refugees on our way to Ba Sing Se.” He finally admits. Kelani’s face drops. 

“Something tells me this is more than just an elaborate plot to capture Aang.” 

Zuko sighs, dropping her hand and looking at the ground. 

“My sister is after us. She nearly tricked us into returning to the Fire Nation as prisoners.” 

Kelani’s eyes widen. 

“Prisoners?” She breathes. He glances at her. She looks worried and scared for him and Iroh. 

“We’re traitors.” He says so matter-of-factly it surprises Kelani. She’s taken aback, and confused. 

His complicated family life just got ten times more complicated than Kelani could imagine. She feels her chest tighten and she reaches for his hand again. He jumps slightly, surprised at her actions. Another blush creeps to his cheeks as he examines their hands. He loves how soft her palm feels against his. 

“So, where to,  _ Lee _ ?” She tries again, grinning. 

He grimaces at the way she says his fake name. He prefers hearing her say his real name. He loves how his name sounds in her voice. But ‘Lee’ doesn’t sound the same. It sounds like the lie that it is. 

He leads her back to the center of town. Most of the stalls are closed up for the night, but the taverns are still bustling with activity. Kelani’s eyes glow at the prospect of a drink. Zuko notices her excitement and chuckles. 

“Your inner pirate is showing.” He teases, watching her. 

She pulls him slightly towards the bar. He stops her and she turns to look at him. She glares at him in a playful way, trying to continue pulling him to the bar. 

“Go ahead without me, I’ve got other stuff I came for.” He explains, slowly letting go of her hand, and missing its warmth instantly. “I’ll meet you back here. If I don’t see you I’ll come in there looking for you.” 

Kelani grins and nods, excitedly skipping off to the bar. He shakes his head at her and goes off in the opposite direction, readying his mask. 

She walks into the bar and breathes in the heavy air thick with sweat and alcohol. The rowdy customers shouting and shoving each other around. She beelines to the bar to order a drink. Her plans to get them more money are moving forward with ease. 

To her dismay, they don’t have any of that spicy Sorghum liquor. All they have are beers and wines. She settles for a strong beer and leans against the bar, watching everyone else. 

A man approaches her with a sloppy grin on his face. She straightens up as he walks over to her. Once he’s close enough, she notices he’s nearly a foot taller than her. His breath reeks of whatever he’s been drinking. 

“Hey, there, Handsome.” She greets, already regretting her decision. 

She should have just gone with Zuko. 

“Let me buy you a drink.” He slurs, looking half asleep. 

This is going to be easy. 

“Well, sure! But buy yourself one too!” 

The man’s head bobbles as he tries to nod. He waves his hand around shouting about more beer. One more would be all it takes. 

Kelani thanks him and leaves her beer to sit on the bar, still working on her first. The man chugs the remainder of his and starts on the fresh one. Kelani feigns surprise when he chugs the first and encourages him to chug the fresh one. Clearly wanting to impress her, he accepts. The beer froths, dripping down his chin as he chugs. Within a minute he belches. 

Pretending to not be disgusted, Kelani cheers him on. He grins, but his eyes start to look heavier than ever. 

“Let’s head to the back where it’s more… private.” She suggests, whispering to him. 

He grabs her arm and yanks her to the back of the bar. He stumbles on his way, making her slosh her own drink all over the floor as he pulls her along. There’s a bench underneath a wall torch. He breathes heavily. 

“You should sit down! I could always sit on your lap.” She grins at him. His face is red from the beer and he looks sweaty under the dim lighting. 

He obliges, taking a seat on the bench, and continues panting to catch his breath. 

“You seem parched, want the rest of my beer?” 

She offers her mug to him and he takes it without arguing, gulping it down while holding it in both hands. Kelani grins. 

“Thanks, princess.” He sighs, leaning back against the wall. 

He belches again, and his eyes stay closed. Kelani pauses, waiting for him to open his eyes again. Instead, he begins to snore. She takes this as her window of opportunity, and eyes his robes for the compartment with his money. Once she finds it she ever so slowly slides her hand into the pocket and retrieves his money pouch. 

The fabric of the pouch is damp with sweat, which disgusts Kelani, but from the weight of it there’s a decent amount innside. She pulls it open to peek in, seeing at least twenty gold pieces. 

Quickly, she darts to the front door of the bar, and waits outside in the fresh air. It feels nice on her skin, slightly warm from the muggy air of the bar, and the one beer she got to finish. She leans against the wall, taking deep breaths. The moist pouch sits in her hand and she hates how it feels, but would rather hold it than let it touch her skin in one of her own pockets. 

She can hear footsteps approaching, rapidly, and turns her attention down the road a bit. It’s Zuko in his Blue Spirit mask. 

There’s no one running behind him, so he stops when he sees Kelani. As soon as he stops, he removes his mask and pants. 

“Ooh, more vigilante shenanigans?” She teases, watching him catch his breath. 

“No.” He breathes, glaring. 

“Okay, well, take this. I don’t want to hold it.” Kelani says, plopping the stranger’s coin pouch into Zuko’s gloved hand. 

“Did you steal this?” Zuko asks, wide eyed. 

Without his mask and his hat, Kelani gets a good look at his face and the way it’s framed by his new haircut. Yue’s moonlight shines brightly down on them, and his eyes sparkle as he looks at her in disbelief. 

“Maybe.” She grins, shrugging and walking past him. 

She catches him smiling at her, and feels a flutter in her stomach. 


	13. Feelings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kelani and Zuko head off on their own

The last few days have gone by in a blur of petty theft in the name of self preservation. At night, Zuko and Kelani head into town and heist their way through the villagers’ pockets. Then, in the light of day, they go back into town to redistribute the wealth by spending it on things they need. 

“Where did you get all this?” Iroh asks, looking skeptically at their amassed inventory of things. 

“What does it matter where it came from?” Zuko counters, grumbling at his uncle, and walking away. 

Kelani awkwardly smiles at Iroh and follows after Zuko. 

“Maybe he has a point. Maybe we need to be more careful.” 

Zuko spins on his heels to come face to face with Kelani, closer than he anticipated. He huffs out a breath and she can feel it against her face. A blush creeps up her neck and she takes a step back. 

Zuko notices her shying away from him slightly, and tries his hardest to ignore it. The time they’ve spent together in the last week has overwritten any oppositions between them. They’re closer now than they were before. And part of him thinks she might be starting to like him the way he likes her. 

“We’re being plenty careful, Uncle just doesn’t like it.” 

Kelani nods, considering his point of view. 

Iroh has every right to be upset with them. They’re committing crime while trying to maintain a low profile to get themselves to Ba Sing Se. It’s riskier the more it continues, and Zuko and Kelani are getting more comfortable with their actions. 

“Hm, I don’t know…” 

Zuko rolls his eyes. 

“You’re really going to take his side?” 

Kelani scoffs. 

“This isn’t about taking sides. We’re all on the same side. It’s about laying low and keeping you safe.” 

Bravely, she reaches for his hand and cradles it in hers. She’s held his hands plenty of times, but the tingle she feels when they touch is new. She seizes in her movements and wonders if he can feel it, or if she’s lost in the fear of getting caught stealing. 

“I don’t need you to protect me.” Zuko mutters, gulping past the lump in his throat. 

He does feel it too, but he doesn’t dare say anything about it. 

“And what about you? Come on, it’s obvious there’s something you’re running away from.” 

Kelani struggles to breathe. The last few days had been a distraction from the pain she constantly feels in her chest, pumping through her veins at every moment. She let herself bury it and pretend it’s not there, and got caught up in the thrill of her old pirate ways. And it's better this time, because she isn’t operating under anyone else’s orders, and she’s with people she can actually trust. 

But her mind clears and all she can think about is leaving the Northern Water Tribe when they needed her most. She left her people, and her childhood, and in a way, Yue. Guilt begins to swallow her whole and she subconsciously grips Zuko’s hand tighter as a way to tether herself to the earth they’re standing on. Her breathing kicks into hyper drive and it feels like all of the air she takes in immediately evaporates from her lungs. 

Zuko watches her, worried at her sudden shift. Her hand grips his and all he can think to do is hold her by the shoulder as she tries to breathe. 

“Hey, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to, I didn’t mean…” 

Kelani drops his hand and falls to her knees, face tucked against her chest. Burning hot tears slide down her cheeks like melting ice, and she takes deep breaths. The sun burns into the back of her skull and she grits her teeth. She’d rather be in the company of the moon. 

A scream bubbles in her chest and she wants to set it free, but decides now isn’t the best time, and tries her best to swallow it. After a few minutes, Kelani slowly stands back to her feet, brushing dried mud off of her. 

She can’t help wondering how Sokka is handling everything. He didn’t know Yue the way she did, but he still loved her and watched her disappear. 

The next day when Zuko announces that he thinks him and Iroh should split ways, Kelani jumps at the chance to go with him. Maybe she can find Sokka and the others if they keep moving. 

Iroh smiles sadly at her as she gears up to leave with Zuko on their ostrich horse. She reaches in her pocket and grabs the pouch from the man at the bar her first night. They hadn’t needed to touch that money yet. She puts it in Iroh’s palm and folds his fingers over top. 

“Come find us, Uncle.” She insists.

His heart swells at her calling him Uncle, and he pulls her into a hug. Zuko watches from a few yards away, secretly overjoyed at the bond Kelani and his uncle have. Kelani steps back and waves one last time before walking over and mounting the ostrich horse. Zuko takes this as his cue and mounts behind her on the saddled ostrich horse. 

“Safe travels,” Iroh calls, waving them off. He grins to himself, well aware of their growing feelings for one another. 

The sun beats down on them as they travel. Zuko’s hands rest against Kelani’s hips as he steers their steed. Kelani’s skin tingles again at the contact, and her face heats up at the proximity of his hands. Her own blush combined with the afternoon sun is enough to dry out her mouth and make her feel overheated. 

“Could we stop in some shade soon?” She asks, sighing and fanning her face. 

Her long braid feels heavier in the Earth Kingdom heat. 

Zuko agrees and keeps an eye out for shade. Before he can find any, they reach a new village. Kelani points out a stall selling lunch, and they make their way over. 

A group of kids giggle and toss an egg across the road at a group of fully grown men. Zuko doesn’t notice as he talks to the vendor at the food stall. Kelani eyes the children and watches as the large men turn around, ready to fight. 

“Brave little lady, throwing eggs.” One of them pesters. 

“It wasn’t my egg. Maybe it was a chicken.” Kelani folds her arms across her chest and stares down the men. They cackle at her and ready their swords. 

Without thinking, Kelani grabs Zuko's dual swords and readies herself for a fight. If only her and Sokka had practiced with actual weapons, then she’d feel prepared to take down these burly fighters. 

“Are you crazy?” Zuko scolds, taking his swords back from her. 

The men laugh at her, but Zuko readies himself to fight them. They take the challenge and start swinging. Kelani can’t bring herself to do anything but watch. The vendor explains that the three men are soldiers, but act more like bullies around the village. Kelani takes in his words, but gets lost in watching Zuko fight. He’s so quick and agile in his movements. The last time she watched him fight, he was fighting Aang at the abbey where June kissed her. This feels different. He’s not bending, and she’s not thinking about June. 

The fight ceases and the men steal the bags of feed Zuko bought for the ostrich horse. Once they’re gone, Kelani buys more feed and some hot food for the two of them. They sit on the ground next to their ostrich horse and eat their food. A little boy walks up to them and grins. Most of his teeth are missing. 

“Hi!” He says, waving at them. 

Kelani smiles. 

“Thanks for not ratting me out to those guys.” 

Zuko looks up from under the brim of his hat, eyebrow raised at the small child. 

“I owe you. Come over for dinner!” He suggests. 

Zuko and Kelani share a look. Zuko is clearly about to decline. 

“That would be lovely!” Kelani agrees, beaming at the child. 

“Cool!” The kid mirrors her smile. “My name is Lee!” 

Kelani chokes on air and pretends it’s a cough. 

Lee leads them through the village to his family’s farm. They pass the open spaces fenced in with livestock reacting to their presence. Lee makes a comment about no one being able to sneak up on them at their farm. Zuko chuckles and glances over at Kelani. She grins back at him, distracted with cooing at the animals. They squeal in response. 

Lee introduces them to his parents who welcome them willingly. Zuko goes off with Gansu to help with farm repairs, and Kelani offers to help Sela with dinner. They wash the vegetables and prepare the meat to be cooked. 

“So how long have you two been travelling?” Sela asks. 

“Um, well, that’s tricky. We were travelling together for a few weeks, and then I went home for a while. But it didn’t feel the same way I imagined it would and I met up with him again to continue on our way to Ba Sing Se.” Kelani explains, wondering if she gave away too much. 

“Just couldn’t stay away from him too long, huh?” Sela smirks, reminiscing on her own love with her husband. 

Kelani’s face burns and she avoids Sela’s eyes. 

“U-uh what do you mean?” 

Her response makes Sela laugh. 

“You don’t have to pretend you’re not together, it’s blatantly obvious. Gansu used to look at me that way too. Took me a while to pay attention to him, but we got there in the end.” 

Kelani’s mind swirls hearing the woman’s words. She assumes that Kelani and Zuko are dating. Kelani feels the heat in her cheeks intensify with a burst. Her stomach flutters simultaneously, and she wonders when she started to feel like this around Zuko. It’s gone unchecked for a brief period of time, but long enough for strangers to notice. Is Zuko really looking at her in a certain way? 

“Oh, Spirits…” Kelani breathes, setting down her vegetable knife. 

“What? Are you alright?” Sela asks, concerned for the mysterious girl helping her prepare dinner. 

Kelani steps back and takes a seat at the table, her legs too unstable to support her. Sela wipes her hands on a towel and sits next to Kelani, rubbing circles on her back. 

“You might be dehydrated, let me get you some clean water.” 

Sela goes outside to the well and brings back a bucket of water, pouring some into a cup for Kelani. Gansu and Zuko watch her go to the well and pull up fresh water. Lee stands behind them as they work, asking Zuko invasive questions. 

Once dinner is ready, they come inside, and Sela insists Kelani sit and let her serve. Kelani sits next to Lee, across from Zuko. He smirks at her from across the table. Kelani averts her eyes quickly, now more nervous than ever in his presence. 

“You two are welcome to stay the night, and continue travelling in the morning.” Sela offers, dishing out the food. 

“Thank you,” Zuko says with a nod. 

Kelani mirrors his nod but doesn’t say anything, still avoiding his gaze. 

“And you can freshen up at the bath house.” Gansu adds, offering to show them the way before it gets too dark. 

“And we can play games before bed!” Lee adds, grinning. 

Kelani smiles at the young boy, wondering if he ever gets lonely being an only child. It’s clear his parents work hard, and he must help where he can, but his excitement to have company makes it clear that he doesn’t get to spend a lot of time with his friends in the village. 

Sela smiles warmly at her son as they eat. Kelani’s mind echoes back to what Sela said to her, that she and Zuko clearly have feelings for each other. She doesn’t know how to approach the topic, or if she should bring it up at all. It’s not clear whether or not Zuko does feel anything, or if he’s aware of her feelings. 

Gansu guides them to the bathhouse and explains how everything works. He offers them towels from his house and leaves them a torch to help guide them back once they’re done. Kelani goes first, thinking that while she waits for Zuko, her hair can dry. 

Her mind continues reeling while she lets the water wash over her. The revelation of her feelings for Zuko have yet to leave. It’s clear now that that’s why she wants to be around him so much, and why her skin tingles when they make contact. It makes sense and doesn’t all at once. Part of her feels like she’s shedding her sadness of losing Yue and moving on as someone completely different. But she’s not ready for that yet. 

While she waits for Zuko, she rests under a tree, staring up at the sky. The stars twinkle and Yue’s light beams down on her. She sighs. This is the longest she’s been alone since finding Zuko and Iroh, and it feels weird. But she knows she’s safe to let her emotions flow freely in this lonely space. 

So she cries. 

Her body shakes with sobs, and tears glide swiftly down her face onto her fabric covered knees that are tucked under her chin. She lets her heart break all over again, allowing her to truly mourn Yue. She gets so caught up in her emotions that she doesn’t notice Zuko leave the bathhouse and stand a few yards away, watching her wracked with guilt and heartache. 

It hurts him to see her this way, so vulnerable and so broken. He feels intrusive watching her, and can’t decide whether to go interrupt, or walk off somewhere else to give her some space. 

“I’m so sorry, Yue.” Kelani cries, a second wave of fresh pain coming over her. 

She cries for everything they lost together, and everything she thinks she could have done to save Yue, even though she knows deep down there was nothing. Each sob erupts in her throat as a reminder of the eight years at sea that she didn’t get to spend making memories with Yue. All the time she spent trapped in the bunk of a ship, scared out of her mind, waiting for the next time they would force her into using her body to distract scummy men at taverns and inns, and on the streets. 

She cries, her thoughts echoing back to Zuko. Her understanding of her newfound feelings for him makes her feel guilty. She doesn’t want to move on from Yue and forget about her and her sacrifice to save the world. But she can’t ignore that being around him makes her the happiest she’s felt since Yue’s death, and that Yue would want her to be happy. That’s all they ever wanted for each other. 

“Kelani?” Zuko finally finds his voice and slowly approaches her under the tree, torch in hand. 

Kelani freezes, immediately wiping her face free of tears and forcing back her sobs. He looks concerned, his eyes highlighted in the flame of the torch. She forces a smile in his direction, standing and brushing off the dirt. Her hair falls around her shoulders, free from its usual braid. 

“Sorry, I um-” 

“Why are you apologizing? I’m sorry I interrupted something. I just got worried…” 

“I feel like all I’ve done lately is break down in front of you…” Kelani admits, gnawing on her bottom lip. 

“There’s nothing wrong with that. At all. I’m sorry you’re hurting so much.” 

His words hang in the air as they stand within a few feet of one another. Kelani stands still, caught between wanting to be alone and wanting him to hold her. 

“I…” Kelani starts, but doesn’t know how to continue. 

Zuko steps closer, slowly, as if waiting for her to back away. 

“Can I ask- who’s Yue?” He hesitates, but waits for her response. 

Her eyes dart up at him and her face falls slightly. Her lip quivers and she takes a deep breath. 

“She was the Princess of the Northern Water Tribe. We grew up together. When she was born, the Moon Spirit gave her life, and when Zhao killed the Moon Spirit, Yue had to sacrifice herself to keep the world and the Spirits in balance.” 

Zuko’s breath catches as Kelani tells him everything he missed. The last thing he remembered before fighting Zhao, was getting knocked out by Katara in the snow storm. He had no idea any of this happened. Not even that Zhao tried to destroy the moon. 

A few fresh tears slip down Kelani’s face. 

“I’m sorry you lost a friend.” Zuko says, stepping a bit closer. 

The torch starts to illuminate her face, and he can see the stains of streaked tears on her face now. He reaches for her hand the way she did his before they separated from Iroh. Again, he can feel his skin tingle against hers, and his palm starts to sweat.

Kelani lets her hand rest against his, but shakes her head, looking up at him. 

“I _loved_ her.” 

“ _Oh_ …” Zuko nods. 

He looks down at their hands, and then up at the moon. It shines brightly down on them. He looks over to Kelani and she, too, is staring at the moon. 

“I still love her. But everything is different now. That’s why I left home. It’s why I need to find Sokka.” 

Zuko tenses slightly at her mentioning Sokka. 

“Why?” 

“He loved her, too. And we promised her we would look after each other.” 

Zuko nods, wanting to pull her close to him, and hold her against his chest. He wants to find a way to make her pain go away, or at least subside. Instead of pulling her, he walks a few steps closer, and wraps his arms around her. She doesn’t pull away. Slowly, she brings her arms up and around his torso, holding him close to her. 

“Thank you for telling me, and trusting me.” 

Kelani tightens her grip on him. 

“Of course.” She hums into his chest, taking in his scent and listening to his heartbeat. 

They walk back to the farm house, hand in hand to keep each other from getting lost on the way, and because neither of them wanted to let go. Lee gets excited to see them and asks if they can play games. Kelani offers to play a few rounds of Pai Sho before Gansu insists that Lee has to go to bed. 

Sela grabs blankets and leads Kelani and Zuko out to the barn to sleep. 

“I’m sorry we don’t have an actual guest room. We don’t get very many guests.” She explains, handing the blankets over to Zuko. 

“We’ve slept on the ground, this is perfect. Thank you for letting us stay.” He replies, with a gracious smile. 

Sela gives the pair a knowing smile, and leaves the barn. Cold night air leaks through the panels of the roof, making Kelani shiver. 

“How is it so fucking hot during the day, and so fucking cold at night?” Kelani grumbles, stealing a blanket out of Zuko’s arms. 

He chuckles, watching her wrap herself up. 

“Well, I’m always warm, so…” 

Kelani sticks her tongue out at him, but laughs. 

“Not that time we saved your ass from freezing to death in a blizzard. But, sure.” 

Zuko can’t stop the laugh that falls out of his mouth. His face heats up in embarrassment, remembering the way he stole Aang from the Spirit Oasis after burning Kelani. 

“Yeah, thanks for that, by the way.” 

“Don’t thank me.” Kelani says, plopping herself down on a cluster of hay. “Thank Aang. He insisted we bring you back.” 

“Oh, wow, you didn’t care about saving me? Ouch.” Zuko teases, taking a seat next to her in the hay. He grins at her. 

“Hey, I would have suggested it if Aang didn’t, I was still groggy from our fight and the searing pain in my shoulder, thank you.” 

Zuko’s face falls at the reminder of him burning her. 

“Don’t look at me like that, I’m fine. You’ve seen it. It’s fine.” Kelani shrugs, and decides to remove her arms from her sleeves to show off her scar again. 

Her skin erupts in chills as she has less to cover her, but turns slightly for Zuko to see her scar. 

“I saw it in the mirror at the bath house. It’s healed really well, I think.” She says, craning her neck over her shoulder to look at Zuko. 

He sits behind her, eyes darting over her bare shoulders, face pink. Her stomach bubbles with flutter bats. She starts wondering if he’ll touch her, and her face heats up. She tries to shake away those thoughts and watches his face change as he looks over her scar. She wants to turn completely and kiss him, which startles her. She’s never had that impulse before. Not with Zuko. 

She could recognize that he brought her comfort, and she liked being around him. Especially now that all they have is each other in a war-torn world. But she didn’t expect that to morph into _attraction_. She can’t even remember the last time she was attracted to someone of the opposite sex. 

Her mind races, thinking up new ways to be close to him. She’s overcome with the urge for physical contact. His eyes flick up to catch her staring at him. She turns her head away, and pulls her sleeves back over her shoulders. While shifting, she scoots herself closer to Zuko. He doesn’t move away. She moves closer and rests her head on his shoulder, nuzzling herself into him. 

“I’m still cold.” She decides to say, feeling him tense up. 

She looks over at him and his face is redder than she’s ever seen it. 

_Maybe that’s a good sign?_

She giggles, getting his attention. He looks at her, his eyebrows furrowed. 

“What?” 

“Have you never cuddled before?” She asks, grinning. 

“Actually… no.” 

She shifts to get a better look at him, not believing him. 

“Seriously?” 

He shrugs, his intense blush still coloring his face. She snakes her arms around his torso and pulls him closer to her. 

“Well, you said you’re always warm, so we’re cuddling.” She says, resting her head against his chest. She can hear his heart pounding. Hers is beating just as fast. 

Zuko lets her snuggle against him. He had gotten used to her platonic affection before, but this feels different. It makes his chest tight with anticipation. But he’s sure that he’s reading too much into things, and she really is just trying to stay warm. 

Kelani hums as they settle into the hay pile for the night. She keeps her head tucked against his chest and breathes in his comforting scent. 

“Goodnight, Zuko.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all we're getting into it now! Our girl likes him back!


End file.
